Toward a Critical, Technology-Integrated Curriculum

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Examination of AI's Role in Education

Abstract

This paper reconceptualizes K-12 technology integration through the lens of integrated curriculum theory and Bernstein’s code theory, enriched by critical educational technology studies. Using a systematic literature review, the study reveals how instrumentalist assumptions, rigid classification, and strong framing often reproduce inequalities—from early 1:1 laptop initiatives to pandemic triage and biased AI tools. Yet, examples of co-constructed, inquiry-driven models demonstrate technology’s potential to blur disciplinary boundaries and amplify student agency. Theoretically, we extend collection/integrated code concepts to digital contexts. Practically, the study highlights implications for collaborative curriculum design, inclusive governance, and equitable policy. In dialogue with AERA 2026’s “Unforgetting Histories and Imagining Future,” our study charts a path toward genuinely democratic, justice-oriented, technology-integrated curricula.

Authors

• Shuning Liu, Ball State University

• Charles P. Tuite, Ball State University