Prompt Engineering as an AI Literacy Competence: A Framework for Learners and Educators

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot increasingly enter educational settings, the ability of educators and learners to interact with these systems meaningfully becomes a critical competence. This paper positions prompt engineering – the practice of formulating effective inputs to guide AI outputs – as a foundational skill within the broader concept of AI literacy for educators and learners. This paper suggest a conceptual framework that connects prompt engineering with existing models of AI literacy and examines its relevance for pedagogical design, content generation, feedback, and student interaction. We synthesize recent literature on prompt typologies, outline key dimensions of competence (cognitive, technical, ethical), and propose a structure for integrating prompt engineering into learners’ and educators’ professional development. By treating prompt engineering as a form of literacy rather than technical know-how, we argue for its central place in future educational practices and policies to enable a smart society in which learners and educators effectively use generative AI.