Abstract
This study represents Phase-2 of the international “Teachers as Climate Leaders – Teacher-Led Climate Culture Model (TCCM)” research project and explores the relationships among Artificial Intelligence (AI), teacher agency, climate literacy, and digital equity in school contexts. While climate education, teacher agency, and AI in education have increasingly attracted scholarly attention, these areas are often examined separately in the literature. This study addresses this gap by analysing how teachers’ engagement with AI, their professional autonomy, and school cultural conditions interact to shape climate literacy outcomes.
Data were collected through international teacher and student surveys across multiple countries. A mixed-methods design was employed to examine teachers’ AI use, teacher agency, school climate, and students’ climate literacy experiences. Quantitative results indicate that AI use is strongly associated with teacher agency (r = .657), which in turn relates to more positive school climate perceptions and stronger climate literacy outcomes. Student findings further highlight the importance of teacher guidance in AI-supported learning environments.
The findings suggest that AI should be understood not merely as a technological tool but as a pedagogical enabling structure that can strengthen teacher agency and support sustainability-oriented learning cultures. The study contributes to current debates on AI in education and climate literacy while offering insights for educational policy discussions related to global climate education initiatives and COP31.