Shaping the future of education: school principals’ views on AI, big data and robot teachers

Shaping the future of education: school principals’ views on AI, big data and robot teachers

연구 분야: Databases

학회: AI & SOCIETY

The technological knowledge, awareness and skills of school leaders who are primarily responsible for implementing educational policies and practices are critical for the effective integration of technology-based initiatives in schools. Therefore, assessing the readiness and awareness of implementers, particularly school leaders, is essential before incorporating new pedagogical strategies or innovative tools into the education system. This study explores how school principals in Antalya, Turkey perceive emerging educational technologies, such as big data, data mining, artificial intelligence (AI) and robot teachers, and identifies the key factors that influence these perceptions. A descriptive and correlational research design was employed, and data were collected from 324 primary and secondary school principals selected through stratified random sampling. The questionnaire was developed based on existing literature and validated through expert review and pilot testing. Correspondence analysis, a multivariate statistical technique that explores relationships between categorical variables by representing them in a low-dimensional graphical space, was applied to analyse the data. The analysis retained two main dimensions explaining a substantial portion of the variance. The findings indicate that the majority of school principals lacked adequate awareness and understanding of big data and data mining concepts. Furthermore, educational level emerged as the most significant factor influencing school leaders’ technological literacy and perceptions. This study provides valuable insights for educational policymakers in developing effective professional development initiatives and lays the groundwork for fostering transformational school leadership that supports the digital transformation of education.