Empowering Sustainability for Future Education: A Culture–Community–AI Framework for a More Humane Learning Society

Abstract

Education is being reshaped by climate change, rapid urbanization, social inequality, digital transformation, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI). In this context, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) cannot be reduced to the mere transmission of environmental knowledge. It must also develop learners’ capacity to interpret complex problems, engage with cultural diversity, participate responsibly in communities, and use emerging technologies without surrendering human agency or ethical judgment. This conceptual paper proposes a Culture–Community–AI (CCA) framework for sustainability-oriented future education. Drawing on an integrative review of ESD, sustainability action competence, culturally grounded and community-connected learning, Indigenous and local knowledge, teacher competence, and human-centered AI, the paper identifies a persistent fragmentation among these bodies of scholarship. The CCA framework addresses this gap through three propositions: cultural grounding makes sustainability learning contextually meaningful; community participation provides a pathway from knowledge to action competence; and AI creates educational value when it augments rather than substitutes for human judgment and participation. The framework is further translated into a proposed Learning Community for Sustainability, illustrated through a “Learning Ward” model for Ho Chi Minh City. The paper argues that future education should not simply add culture, community activities, sustainability, and AI as separate components. Their educational value lies in how they are connected within a relational ecology centered on human agency, collective responsibility, and locally meaningful action.