PARTICIPATORY CO-DESIGN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS: OVERCOMING THE CULTURAL AND ETHICAL DISCONNECT IN AI TEACHER TRAINING

Abstract

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Brazilian public education has occurred in a fragmented manner, lacking ethical and cultural guidelines and with limited community participation. This weakens pedagogical practice, amplifies teacher resistance, and may accentuate regional inequalities. In this context, this study aims to critically analyze the absence of normative guidelines for the use of AI in teacher training and to propose school and community co-design as a participatory strategy for building contextualized, inclusive, and socially responsible educational policies. Methodologically, a review of national and international literature on ethics, culture, and AI in education was conducted, articulating contributions from authors such as Viberg, Morales-Cevallos, Ewais, Madsen, Tanchuk, and Daskalaki, in addition to semi-structured interviews with five professionals from school management and municipal secretariats in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará. The results indicate consensus regarding the potential of co-design to legitimize decisions, strengthen teacher autonomy, expand digital literacy, and align technological innovation with local realities, although structural challenges persist, such as precarious infrastructure, insufficient training, and institutional resistance. It is concluded that collaborative policies, anchored in ethical principles, community participation, and continuous training, favor the critical integration of AI into education, promoting greater equity, pedagogical responsibility, and cultural relevance in public schools.