From Lagos Classrooms to AI Research: How Nigerian Scholar is Shaping Future of Human-centred AI in Education

Long before artificial intelligence became a major topic in classrooms and universities, Yetunde Fawehinmi was already asking questions about how students learn, how teachers can be better supported and how schools can respond more effectively to the needs of the people they serve. Those questions first took shape in Lagos, where she founded and led LeavesGreen School and worked across curriculum development, teacher supervision, student assessment, parent engagement, quality assurance and school operations.

Today, Fawehinmi is a PhD candidate in Higher Education Administration at Texas A&M University in the United States, where her research has increasingly focused on the role of artificial intelligence in education. Fawehinmi spoke with THISDAY about her research. Excerpts:

What does human-centred AI mean to you in the context of education?

Human-centred AI means using artificial intelligence in ways that support people rather than push them out of the process. In education, AI can help teachers to identify learning gaps, provide feedback, organise information and understand patterns in student performance. It can also help students access learning resources in ways that are more responsive to their needs. But there are things that technology cannot replace. Teachers bring judgement, care, context and an understanding of the individual student. They understand what is happening in a classroom in ways that cannot always be captured by data. So for me, the question is not whether AI is powerful. We already know that it is. The question is whether we are using that power in ways that actually help teachers and students.

Why do you think this conversation is particularly important now?

Because AI is moving very quickly, and education is being forced to respond just as quickly. Students are already using these tools. Faculty members are already encountering them in assignments. Institutions are trying to develop policies around them. The challenge is that technology can move faster than the systems that are responsible for deciding how it should be used. That can create uncertainty. Some people respond by saying AI should simply be banned. Others become excited about the possibilities and want to use it everywhere. I think we need a more thoughtful conversation. We need to ask what works, what does not work, what risks exist and what responsibilities institutions have to both students and educators.

Why is this conversation important for schools and universities today?

Students are being prepared for a world in which artificial intelligence will influence many different professions, so schools and universities cannot treat AI as something that exists outside education. At the same time, preparing students for that world is about more than teaching them how to use an AI tool. Students need to understand how to evaluate information, question AI-generated outputs, recognise limitations and use these systems responsibly. Educators also need guidance and support. You cannot simply introduce a new technology and assume that teachers will automatically know the best way to integrate it into teaching and learning. That is why AI literacy matters for both students and educators.

How did your experience leading a school in Nigeria shape the way you think about technology in education?

It made me very practical. When you are working in a school, you realise very quickly that an idea can sound excellent in theory and still not work in practice. Teachers have limited time. Students have different learning needs. Parents have expectations. Administrators must think about training, resources, assessment and implementation. So whenever I think about technology, I ask practical questions. Can a teacher use this? Does it help the student? Does it make the learning process clearer or more complicated? What happens when something goes wrong? Who is responsible for the decision? My school leadership experience taught me that implementation matters just as much as innovation.

Your earlier work focused heavily on students, literacy and school development. How does that connect with what you are studying now?

For me, there is a strong connection. Technology is different, but the fundamental question is still about how we help students learn. If a student is struggling, how do we recognise that early? How do we provide appropriate support? How do we help teachers to understand what a student needs? Artificial intelligence creates new possibilities for answering some of those questions because it can process information quickly and identify patterns. But technology should not become the goal. The goal is still student development. That is something I learned very clearly from working directly in education.

What aspects of AI in education interest you the most?

I am particularly interested in personalised learning, assessment, educator decision-making and student support. I want to understand how AI can be used in practical ways to help educators respond to individual learning needs, improve feedback and make better-informed decisions. I am also interested in how institutions develop policies around AI. There are important questions about privacy, fairness, access and transparency. If an AI system influences a decision about a student, educators should understand what role that system is playing and whether the decision is fair. Those questions are just as important as technology itself.

You have studied grading, authorship and generative AI. Why has assessment become such an important issue?

Because assessment is supposed to tell us something about what a student knows or can do. Generative AI complicates that. Students can now use AI to brainstorm, organise ideas, edit writing, summarise information or generate entire responses. That means educators must think more carefully about what an assignment is measuring. If a student uses AI, does that automatically mean learning did not happen? Not necessarily. But if the technology completes the intellectual work that the assignment was designed to assess, then we have a problem. So, the conversation needs to go beyond simply asking whether AI was used. We need to ask what the student was expected to learn, what role technology played and whether the assessment still gives the educator meaningful information about the student’s understanding.

Do you think traditional assignments will have to change?

I think many of them are already changing. Educators are experimenting with more reflective work, oral discussions, project-based assessments, staged assignments and activities that require students to explain how they arrived at an answer. I think that is healthy. AI may force us to become more deliberate about why we assess students in particular ways. Sometimes we have used the same kinds of assignments for years simply because they are familiar. Now we are being forced to ask whether those assignments still measure what we think they measure.

How can AI support personalised learning without replacing teachers?

AI can help educators to see patterns. For example, it may help identify areas where a student repeatedly struggles or provide additional learning resources based on the student’s needs. It can also provide immediate feedback in situations where a teacher cannot respond individually to every student at every moment. But that should support the teacher, not remove the teacher. A system does not know a student in the same way a teacher does. Teachers understand emotions, motivation, background, classroom dynamics and many other things that may never appear in a dataset. Personalised learning should mean giving educators more ways to understand and support students, not handing the relationship over to an algorithm.

What role should teachers have as AI becomes more advanced?

A central role. Education is not only about information. Teachers help students develop judgement, confidence, curiosity and the ability to think critically. They also recognise things that are difficult for a machine to recognise. A student may technically complete an assignment but still be struggling. Another student may understand the material but lack confidence. Those things matter. AI can provide information and support, but educators provide interpretation and human understanding. I do not see the future of education as AI replacing teachers. I see the possibility of AI helping teachers become more effective, provided that the technology is used responsibly.

What concerns you most about the rapid adoption of AI in education?

One concern is that institutions may adopt technologies before fully understanding their limitations. Another is unequal access. If some students have access to advanced AI tools and others do not, that can create new inequalities. Privacy is also important because educational systems often contain sensitive information about students. Then there is the question of trust. Students and educators need to understand how these systems are being used and what happens to the information they provide. I think responsible adoption requires us to ask those questions early rather than waiting until problems arise.

You often speak about AI literacy. What does that mean beyond simply knowing how to use a tool?

AI literacy means understanding enough about these systems to use them thoughtfully. That includes knowing that AI can produce inaccurate information. It means understanding that output may reflect biases or limitations in the data and systems behind them. It means being able to verify information rather than accepting an answer simply because it was generated quickly and confidently. For students, that kind of literacy is becoming part of critical thinking. For educators, it also means understanding when AI is useful and when professional judgement should take priority.

Do you see a connection between your experience in Nigeria and your work in the United States?  

Absolutely. Educational systems are different, but many of the fundamental questions are shared. How do we help students learn? How do we support teachers? How do we make education more responsive? How do we introduce new ideas without losing sight of the people they are supposed to serve? My experience in Nigeria gave me one perspective on those questions. My work in the United States is giving me another. I think moving between those contexts has helped me see that technology may change, but the human purpose of education remains remarkably consistent.