EARLY CHILDHOOD LECTURERS’ KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS IN TEACHING IN SOUTH-WESTERN, NIGERIA
Abstract
Globally, the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence tools in education highlights both opportunities and challenges for teaching and learning. In Nigeria, its practical implementation in educational settings is still in its early stages and remains a growing area of concern. This study, therefore, investigated early childhood lecturers’ knowledge and use of AI tools in teaching in SouthWestern Nigeria. This investigation involves answering six research questions and testing two null hypotheses at 0.05 significance level. The target population comprised ninety early childhood lecturers and seven hundred and twentythree 300 and 400 level students across six public universities in Lagos Ondo and Ekiti states. Descriptive design was adopted. Assessment test and Questionnaire was used to obtained data and 73 lecturers were sampled via multistage and proportionate techniques and validated through face and content validity by expert. Reliability coefficients obtained via testretest over a twoweek interval were 0.79 for the Lecturers Knowledge and 0.92 for the Lecturers Use. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, and MANOVA at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that lecturers possessed high knowledge (mean=70.34) of AI tools but the level of use was low (mean=2.37). Findings from MANOVA analysis revealed that there was no significant gender differences in lecturers’ knowledge (F(1,71) = 0.248; p > 0.05) and use (F(1,71) = 0.186; p > 0.05) of AI tools. It is concluded that early childhood lecturers in SouthWestern Nigeria possessed high knowledge of but lecturers under utilise these technologies. It is recommended that the Department of Early Childhood Education organise regular, handson AI workshops and seminars to translate lecturers’ positive dispositions into ethical and practical integration into teaching and learning.
Keyword words: Early childhood lecturers, Knowledge, Level of use, Artificial intelligence tools
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