Digital Disruption and Family Education Priorities: A Middle East and North Africa Regional Analysis
Keywords:
family education; artificial intelligence; parental authority; cultural values; MENA regionAbstract
This study examined how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping family education priorities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Through a large-scale quantitative survey of approximately 2000 parents in eight MENA countries (Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria), patterns of AI integration were mapped in home learning, and associated shifts in parental authority, pedagogical values, and educational equity were assessed. Using a composite AI Integration Index, adoption intensity, usage autonomy, and attitudinal changes toward core educational priorities were measured. The findings revealed a clear regional divide: high-integration Gulf states reported significant erosion of parental authority over knowledge and increased domestic conflict over homework quality, whereas moderate-integration North African countries experienced high strain due to insufficient institutional support. Parental digital literacy emerged as a critical mediator, buffering against conflict and mitigating concerns about authority. The study also identified a growing “critical thinking divide”, where unequal access to structured AI literacy entrenches socio-educational inequities. These results underscore the need for culturally responsive, family-centered policy interventions, including national AI literacy frameworks, enhanced school–parent guidance systems, and regional efforts to promote equitable critical engagement with AI. The research contributes a timely, evidence-based perspective on how AI is renegotiating educational values within MENA households, offering a foundation for policies that align technological advancement with cultural and intergenerational continuity.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.25.8.34
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