Towards Human-Centered Generative AI for Collaborative Educational Ecosystems: Design Principles for Strengthening School–Community Partnerships

The rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping educational research and practice by expanding opportunities for personalized learning, intelligent content generation, and collaborative knowledge construction. Although existing studies demonstrate the transformative potential of GenAI for teaching and learning, they primarily conceptualize AI as an instructional technology that supports teachers and students within classroom settings. Comparatively limited attention has been devoted to the role of Human-Centered Generative AI in fostering collaboration across broader educational ecosystems that connect schools with families, local communities, higher education institutions, and societal stakeholders. This conceptual study addresses this gap by proposing a design-oriented framework for integrating Human-Centered Generative AI into collaborative educational ecosystems. Drawing on an integrative synthesis of literature in Human-Centered AI, Generative AI in Education, Human–AI Collaboration, educational ecosystems, and school–community partnerships, the paper identifies six interrelated design dimensions: Human Agency, Collaborative Intelligence, Contextual Intelligence, Community Engagement, Ethical Governance, and Sustainable Innovation. Together, these dimensions provide a conceptual foundation for designing AI-enabled educational environments that preserve human decision-making, promote inclusive participation, support contextual adaptation, and strengthen collaboration between schools and their communities. Rather than viewing AI as an autonomous educational actor, the proposed framework conceptualizes Human-Centered Generative AI as collaborative design infrastructure that augments human expertise and facilitates meaningful partnerships among educational stakeholders. The study contributes to the emerging discourse on AI-supported educational innovation by extending current research beyond classroom applications toward ecosystem-oriented educational design.