The growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education is transforming teaching, learning, and assessment practices. While these AI-driven systems improve efficiency and personalisation, many existing approaches often prioritise technological performance over human-centred values. This raises many concerns about diminished human agency, trust in AI systems, and ethical governance in educational contexts. Thus, this paper aims to respond to these concerns by promoting a human-centred perspective on AI in education. This study adopts a conceptual and integrative approach, drawing on the interdisciplinary literature from fields such as education, AI–computer collaboration, and the intersection of ethics and AI, published in leading peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings published in English between 2015 and 2025. Through theory development and critical synthesis, this paper develops a conceptual model that illustrates how human-centred AI principles can be integrated within technology-driven educational environments. The results present a human-centred AI framework for education around three interrelated dimensions: trust, human agency, and ethics. Transparency, explainability, and accountable governance are posited to enhance users’ trust, which in turn motivates learners and educators to exercise meaningful oversight and informed decision-making. Moreover, human agency acts as a mediating mechanism that ensures AI augments rather than replaces human judgement. Ethical governance is grounded in fairness, transparency, inclusivity, and accountability, under which trust and agency meaningfully inform responsible practice. Overall, this proposed integrated model highlights how the ethical interaction of these dimensions can foster ethically grounded human–AI collaboration while addressing ethical risks associated with over-automation and algorithmic bias. By re-centring key principles of trust, agency, and ethics, this study contributes to existing AI-enhanced educational research. This framework offers practical guidance for educators, policymakers, and practitioners by emphasising the need to implement AI systems that respect human values and enhance ethical responsibility, empowering educational practices. Future directions are also presented.