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Updating Education: What Happened in Education in June 2025?
- Eduettu
- Jul 8
- 3 min read
The global education landscape in June 2025 was marked by convergence: between pedagogy and policy, between digital access and digital ethics, and between climate awareness and curriculum reform. As schools and ministries of education grapple with shifting student needs and accelerated technological change, several critical developments emerged.
1. AI in Classrooms: Legal and Ethical Frameworks Take Shape
One of the most consequential movements in June 2025 was the formal regulation of artificial intelligence in educational settings. In the United Kingdom, the Department for Education released its long-anticipated Code of Practice for AI in Education, outlining expectations around data transparency, human oversight, and algorithmic fairness.
Similarly, the European Union advanced amendments to its broader AI Act that include provisions for educational uses, such as AI-assisted grading and adaptive learning platforms. These policies now require that AI-driven tools used in classrooms undergo risk classification and include explainability features to support both teachers and students.
Outside Europe, jurisdictions such as New South Wales and Singapore have introduced mandatory training for educators in AI literacy and responsible use, positioning teachers not only as users but also as evaluators of these tools.
Collectively, these efforts indicate a shift from permissive experimentation to structured governance, raising questions about implementation timelines, budget alignment, and professional development.
2. Student Mental Health: A Global Red Flag
New data released in June reaffirms that adolescent wellbeing remains a critical barrier to academic engagement. The Global Mental Health Assessment Report published by Sapien Labs indicates that students who receive smartphones before age 13 show significantly lower wellbeing scores across cognitive and emotional domains by their late teens.
In Japan, the Ministry of Education reported a record 293,000 students identified as futōkō (school refusal), marking a 13% increase over the previous year, as reported in the Japan Times. In the United States, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention briefing reiterated the mental health impacts of overexposure to digital media, especially among adolescent girls.
These findings have reignited calls for comprehensive school-based mental health services, the integration of digital literacy into wellbeing education, and the re-evaluation of technology’s role in formative learning environments.
3. Climate Education Expands Through Localised Curricula
Curriculum reform in June reflected a growing emphasis on climate education that is contextually grounded and interdisciplinary. In Kenya, the Ministry of Education began rolling out its National Climate Resilience Curriculum, designed in collaboration with community organizations and agricultural researchers. The curriculum focuses on food security, water management, and systems thinking within the national science and civics frameworks, as reported by UNESCO.
In Colombia and Vietnam, similar pilot programs are now being developed that integrate indigenous knowledge systems, environmental justice principles, and student-led inquiry into upper secondary classrooms. These efforts follow broader trends within the UNESCO Greening Education Partnership, which has advocated for whole-institution climate approaches since COP28.
This transition from generic “climate awareness” modules to locally specific, action-oriented pedagogy is consistent with OECD guidance on “futures-oriented” education reform, which calls for curriculum models that promote agency, sustainability, and resilience.
June 2025 offers a snapshot of an education sector in transition. Whether through AI regulation, mental health prioritization, or climate curriculum reform, these developments suggest an emerging consensus: that wellbeing and ethics must guide the next generation of education policy.
How can policymakers, educators, and researchers align systemic reform with the everyday realities of classroom learning? Let us know in the comments below.
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