TEACHER EDUCATORS’ READINESS, PERCEPTIONS, AND CONCERNS REGARDING AI INTEGRATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN PUNJAB
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63878/qrjs1338Keywords:
Artificial intelligence, teacher educators, AI integration, ethical concerns.Abstract
AI is increasingly important in the domains of teaching and educational material development. The success of AI implementation in teacher education would be contingent upon teacher educators' preparedness. Their perceptions of AI and the support and guidance they receive from the institutional side. The current study sought to understand the readiness, perceptions, and concerns of teacher educators regarding the integration of AI in teacher education institutions. A qualitative research design with hermeneutic phenomenology was adopted.
A total of 11 teacher educators participated in this study. The number of participants was deemed adequate for the study. The research aimed to obtain meaningful accounts of participants’ experiences of the phenomenon under study, rather than to generalise the findings. Most of the participants had gained experience using AI independently. The participants also discussed issues related to inaccurate data, cheating, students' overreliance on AI, cultural biases, a lack of critical thinking, privacy concerns, and the absence of an institutional policy. All participants agreed that AI should be used to help teachers, not replace them, and that human judgment is crucial in teaching and decision-making. Teacher education institutions should provide professional development, appropriate technology, ethics training, technical support, and AI-related policies.
The results have revealed three major themes: lack of preparedness for the integration of AI, AI as a useful but controlled tool in education, and ethical, academic, and institutional issues related to the technology. It was found that most participants were aware of AI and understood that it could be used to plan lessons, create educational materials, prepare for assessments, conduct research, and relieve teachers' workload. Still, the levels of awareness, confidence, technological skills, and competence in using AI for pedagogical purposes varied widely.
