PISA 2029 and the Equity Challenge: Integrating Digital and Ethical Transformations in Public Education
Kelly Baptista
By: Kelly Baptista
(image: Canva reproduction)
The future of public education in Brazil depends on its ability to integrate the digital and ethical transformations identified in global trends. The fusion of technology and professional training requires a profound restructuring, in which public schools must cease to be mere spectators and take the lead in these changes.
As a participant in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Brazil will face, in 2029, the challenge of assessing the Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy (MAIL). This new area seeks to develop crucial skills so that students can engage proactively and critically in a world permeated by digital tools.
This innovative aspect of PISA directly reflects one of the major trends of our time: critical curation in the age of synthesis. True power no longer lies in possessing information, but in the ability to use it strategically. With the rapid advancement of generative Artificial Intelligence, content production has become more accessible.
However, not all information available online is reliable, and it may reinforce prejudices and spread disinformation. It is therefore essential that public schools equip both students and teachers to filter, question and assess the credibility, quality and objectives of information accessed in digital environments.
Agile, Ethical and Inclusive Training
Traditional long-term training models are being challenged by the concept of skill stacking. Careers are becoming modular sets of competencies, validated by microcredentials. In light of this, public education in Brazil needs to make its curricula more flexible and implement agile systems that recognize and validate these specific skills, keeping pace with the speed of changes in the labor market.
However, technology is not neutral. When used on a large scale, it can reproduce and intensify social prejudices. In Brazil, a movement that values the creation of culturally sensitive technologies capable of understanding our histories, colors and contexts is essential. Artificial Intelligence literacy, as proposed by PISA, requires the development of skills that enable effective, ethical and responsibleinteractions, ensuring that AI functions as a tool for equity rather than widening inequalities.
Given the slow pace of curricular transformation, many companies are becoming true corporate learning ecosystems, creating “internal universities” to train their own professionals. Public education must respond to this scenario through strategic partnerships and mechanisms that integrate training into the contemporary workflow. AI assistants can act as cognitive copilots, assisting teachers and students in real time with knowledge and insights applied during the execution of projects and tasks.
Technology and the Human Touch
In a high-tech setting, the human touch stands out as a decisive differentiator. Although much of mass education can be automated, access to real mentors, in-depth conversations and in-person interactions will remain irreplaceable. Public-school teachers must be prepared and valued as these mentors, guiding students both in critical curation and in the ethical application of digital tools.
On the other hand, as life expectancy increases, the future of work will become increasingly intergenerational. This will require an environment of coexistence and knowledge exchange among different generations. Public education should be the stage for this synergy, promoting collaboration, combating age-related prejudice and innovating inclusively to prepare citizens for the longevity economy.
The real challenge is ensuring that this technological revolution is for everyone. The question is not whether public education will change—the changes are inevitable. The crucial point is whether it will lead or be held hostage by these transformations. The moment calls for a decisive and visionary stance, capable of turning challenges into opportunities and building a future with equity, innovation and ethics.
