Rethinking AI Literacy and Ethical, Culturally Responsive AI Competence: A Scoping Review Protocol of AI Capability Frameworks in African Higher Education

Background: The rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education has intensified global debates concerning academic integrity, epistemic agency, and the development of responsible AI competence. Although AI literacy and capability frameworks are increasingly proposed to guide ethical and critical engagement with AI technologies, existing models remain conceptually fragmented and largely grounded in Global North epistemological assumptions. Limited synthesis exists regarding how these frameworks address ethical reasoning, cultural responsiveness, and epistemic justice within African higher education contexts. Objective: This scoping review aims to systematically map AI capability and AI literacy frameworks relevant to higher education, with particular attention to their ethical, developmental, and culturally responsive dimensions in African settings. Methods: Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework and reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR, the review will search Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Google Scholar for English-language publications from 2010 to 2025. The review will examine how AI literacy and competence are defined, how developmental progression is structured, and the extent to which frameworks engage Indigenous Knowledge Systems, decolonial scholarship, and African epistemic priorities. Discussion: By identifying conceptual patterns, epistemic silences, and regional disparities, this review will provide a justice-oriented evidence base to inform the development of ethically grounded, culturally responsive, and developmentally coherent AI competence frameworks in African higher education