{"title":"The impact of artificial intelligence on students’ 4C skills: A meta-analysis","authors":"Qian Tian, Xudong Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.edurev.2025.100728","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has highlighted its potential to enhance students' higher-order competencies, particularly the 4C skills (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity). However, the effectiveness of AI in fostering these skills remains debated, primarily due to inconsistent findings across studies. To address this research gap, this study employs the meta-analysis method, analyzing 39 experimental and quasi-experimental studies published in international journals between January 2010 and July 2024. The results reveal that: (1) AI has a moderately positive impact on students' 4C skills (the combined effect size = 0.624), while there is no significant difference in creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration; (2) AI-based learning tools are most effective in enhancing the 4C skills of primary school students compared to other educational levels; (3) a mix of different technology types is more conducive to developing students' 4C skills than any single technology; (4) AI is most effective in fostering 4C skills when applied in adaptive systems and personalization; (5) smartphones, as AI learning devices, show significant potential in promoting 4C skills. These findings provide valuable insights for future research and practice aimed at leveraging AI tools to enhance students’ 4C skills, particularly by identifying key factors that maximize the effectiveness of AI in education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48125,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research Review","volume":"49 ","pages":"Article 100728"},"PeriodicalIF":10.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Educational Research Review","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X2500065X","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has highlighted its potential to enhance students' higher-order competencies, particularly the 4C skills (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity). However, the effectiveness of AI in fostering these skills remains debated, primarily due to inconsistent findings across studies. To address this research gap, this study employs the meta-analysis method, analyzing 39 experimental and quasi-experimental studies published in international journals between January 2010 and July 2024. The results reveal that: (1) AI has a moderately positive impact on students' 4C skills (the combined effect size = 0.624), while there is no significant difference in creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration; (2) AI-based learning tools are most effective in enhancing the 4C skills of primary school students compared to other educational levels; (3) a mix of different technology types is more conducive to developing students' 4C skills than any single technology; (4) AI is most effective in fostering 4C skills when applied in adaptive systems and personalization; (5) smartphones, as AI learning devices, show significant potential in promoting 4C skills. These findings provide valuable insights for future research and practice aimed at leveraging AI tools to enhance students’ 4C skills, particularly by identifying key factors that maximize the effectiveness of AI in education.
期刊介绍:
Educational Research Review is an international journal catering to researchers and diverse agencies keen on reviewing studies and theoretical papers in education at any level. The journal welcomes high-quality articles that address educational research problems through a review approach, encompassing thematic or methodological reviews and meta-analyses. With an inclusive scope, the journal does not limit itself to any specific age range and invites articles across various settings where learning and education take place, such as schools, corporate training, and both formal and informal educational environments.