MINI REVIEW article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1598210
This article is part of the Research TopicAI Innovations in Education: Adaptive Learning and BeyondView all 22 articles
The Impact of AI-Based Painting Technology on Children's Creative Thinking
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China
- 2Fengzhuang Primary School, Shou County, Huainan, China
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With the emerging application of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, AI-based painting technology has been fully introuced into the development of children's creative thinking. However, the following studies mainly focus on the technological development and system optimizatio. There are concerns on the limited educational perspectives, sampling biases, and imperfect theoretical frameworks which restrict the effective evaluation on the AI tools and children's art education. In this paper, we conduct a systematic review and examines the multidimensional impacts of AI-based painting tools on children's creative thinking, inculuding the creative expression, original creation, independent thinking and problem solving. With the PRISMA guidelines, we analysis 20 empirical articles (14 from Scopus and Web of Science and 6 from other sources) and provide recommendations on how educators can effectively integrate these tools into art education to foster children's creative thinking. We find that AI tools enhance creative expression through virtual interaction and personalized learning. However, there are still risks of cognitive homogenization due to standardized interfaces and the disconnection between theory and practice. Our study propose evidence-based strategies for educators to select age-appropriate tools and implement process-oriented assessments. We also advocate the application of technology from educational and humanistic perspectives to balance technical effectiveness and humanistic educational goals.
Keywords: AI-based painting technology, art education, children's creative thinking, Systematic review, Educational Technology
Received: 22 Mar 2025; Accepted: 02 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zhang, Wang and Zheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Anna Wang, 317804717@qq.com
Wei Zheng, 1020130986@jxstnu.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.