Enhancing Design Thinking through Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Augmented Curriculum to Support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Chinese Vocational Education: A Bibliometric and Mixed-Methods Study
Keywords:
Artificial intelligence, Bibliometric study, Curriculum development, Design thinking, Sustainable development goals, Vocational educationAbstract
Traditional vocational art and design education in China
often emphasizes technical skills while providing limited
support for creative problem-solving. This study developed
and evaluated an artificial intelligence (AI)-augmented
curriculum to enhance design thinking and support
Sustainable Development Goals in Chinese vocational
education. A bibliometric and mixed-methods design was
applied through curriculum mapping, pre-test and post-test
measurement, and semi-structured interviews. The findings
showed improvement in overall design thinking, especially
collaboration, problem orientation, and test iteration.
However, empathy developed more slowly because
generative AI produced standardized outputs with limited
emotional depth. The study highlights the value of
integrating AI with human guidance, reflective practice, and
ethical creative judgment.
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