The relationship between the primary school teachers’ attitude towards learning AI technology usage and their professional development

Abstract

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has created new opportunities for teachers’ professional learning and development. The current study investigated relationship between the primary school teacher's learning AI technology usage and their professional growth. A quantitative survey research design was employed and data were collected from government primary school teachers in District Khushab, Punjab, through a structured questionnaire. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondent of the study from public sector primary schools of tehsil Khushab. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analyses were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed the teachers’ positive perceptions about AI technology usage for their professional development. AI competency, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of learning and use were found significantly positive correlated with their attitude to learn AI use. The results further showed that teachers’ attitude towards leaning AI technology usage significantly predicted positively their professional development (β=1.42, p <0.05). The study concludes that primary school teachers’ attitude towards using AI technology positively affect their usage of this technology to enhance their professional development. It is recommended that by providing AI-tools usage trainings, practical learning opportunities, and professional interventional strategies through their CPD programs may accelerate the readiness to use these technologies in their teaching and non-teaching tasks for addressing the future challenges.