Underexplored impact of AI on fostering reading comprehension and key 21st-century skills including critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration in the Global South

The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education presents unique challenges and significant opportunities for developing contexts, necessitating pedagogical innovations that are context-sensitive and equitable. Employing a qualitative, interpretive case study, the research analysed anonymised user interactions (annotations and comments) from a South African-developed social reading app. Inductive reasoning was central to developing a grounded understanding of readers' nuanced experiences. Interpreted through the integrated lens of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, Bandura's social cognitive theory, and Gibson's theory of affordances, thematic analysis revealed six key themes: fostering creativity, developing critical thinking, enhancing collaboration, cultivating emotional intelligence, building adaptability, and collaborative inquiry & perspective exchange. Findings demonstrate that the app’s AI-enabled affordances cultivate these skills by facilitating analytical inquiry, imaginative exploration, and knowledge co-construction. While a single case study limits generalisability, this research offers a rich, theoretically grounded model for AI-enhanced learning in developing contexts, providing valuable insights for equitable and effective educational technology design.

人工智能（Artificial Intelligence）在教育领域的快速整合，为发展中地区带来了独特挑战与重大机遇，亟需开展兼具情境适配性与公平性的教学革新。本研究采用质性阐释性案例研究范式，对一款南非研发的社交阅读应用中的匿名化用户交互数据（含批注与评论）进行分析。归纳推理是构建读者细腻多元使用体验扎根式理解的核心手段。本研究整合维果茨基社会文化理论、班杜拉社会认知理论与吉布森可供性理论的多维视角开展阐释，通过主题分析提炼出六大核心主题：创造力培育、批判性思维发展、协作能力提升、情绪智力培育、适应性塑造，以及协作探究与观点交换。研究结果显示，该应用依托人工智能赋能的可供性，通过推动分析性探究、想象力探索与知识共同建构，助力上述核心技能的培育。尽管单一案例研究限制了本研究的推广性，但本研究为发展中地区的人工智能赋能学习提供了一套内容丰富且具备坚实理论支撑的模型，为公平高效的教育技术设计提供了宝贵的学术洞见。