Children’s Rights, Metacognition, and AI Literacy: A Conceptual Framework

Children participate in increasingly AI-mediated environments. Drawing on children’s rights, philosophy of technology, cognitive science, and AI literacy research, this paper argues that exercising rights in these environments increasingly depends on metacognitive monitoring and control. This extends beyond narrower approaches to AI literacy focused primarily on technical knowledge and children’s safety. To that end, an alignment between rights-related concerns, metacognitive processes, and learning goals is established. This provides a preliminary conceptual basis for future research, curriculum development, and educational policy. The paper emphasises local adaptation, subject-embedded teaching, and learner diversity, including SEND. Furthermore, as AI systems and educational contexts continue to evolve rapidly, open educational resources are suggested as a particularly valuable model for collaborative refinement, localisation, and equitable access.