Beyond Digital Literacy: An Integrative Review of AI-Era Digital Citizenship Competencies for Elementary Students
Abstract
The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the way children access information, create content, communicate, and participate in the digital environment. owever, digital literacy and AI literacy are still studied separately, leaving basic education without a competency framework that integrates technological capabilities with responsible digital participation. This research aims to review, critique, and synthesize the literature on digital literacy, AI literacy, digital citizenship, and AI education to reconceptualize the literacy competencies of elementary school students. An integrative literature review was conducted through a structured multi-source search of publications in 2021–2026. After full-text verification and assessment of the role of evidence, 27 publications were selected as the main analytical corpus, while four additional publications were used as conceptual and contextual sources. The data were analyzed through critical comparison and thematic synthesis. The results of the study show that AI literacy does not replace digital literacy,and but expands transforms it. The foundations of digital literacy include information and data investigation, media and multimodal literacy, digital communication and creation, and safety, privacy, identity, and rights. The foundation is extended through conceptual understanding of AI, articulation of intent in human–AI interactions, critical verification and bias evaluation, ethical and social reasoning, human agency and authorship, and AI-assisted problem-solving and creation. The synthesis yields an Integrated Digital Citizenship Framework in the AI Era for Elementary Students, which anchors these competencies within pedagogical support, teachers, families, schools, access, and equity thereby guiding students toward critical, ethical, safe, inclusive, responsible, and agency-driven participation. This framework offers a conceptual basis for curriculum development, teacher professional development, and performance-based assessment in primary education.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Retno Dwi Ambarwati Ningrum, Sigit Priatmoko, Zulfa Aliyah, Achmad Jeffry Al-Ghifari, Wiku Aji Sugiri, Rizki Amelia
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