ASSESSING THE LEVEL OF AWARENESS AND LEVERAGE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS' CURRICULUM AMONG TEACHERS IN EKITI SOUTH-WEST

Abstract

The appropriate utilisation of AI in educational processes has undoubtedly brought improvements in design, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum. Teachers are one of the stakeholders in implementing these curricula. Are these teachers aware of AI? Are they leveraging AI in the implementation of Junior Schools' curriculum? Hence this research. The research adopted a descriptive survey research design. Two research questions were raised to guide the study. The study is delimited to Junior School teachers in Ekiti South-West Local Government Area. Ten (10) schools were selected using total enumeration. Ten (10) teachers were selected from each school using a purposive simple sampling technique, giving a total of one-hundred (100) sample size. An adapted research instrument was used titled 'Artificial Intelligence Awareness and Leverage Questionnaire (AIALQ)'. The instrument was reviewed by experts and had a reported reliability coefficient of 0.85. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistical analysis (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation). The results of the findings revealed that the level of AI awareness among the junior school teachers is high at a weighted average mean of 2.51, and the level of AI leverage among the teachers is low at a weighted average mean of 2.10. The research therefore concluded that, to improve junior secondary schools' teachers' awareness and leverage on AI, there should be provision of ICT and other AI supported facilities in the schools. Also, in-service training should be conducted on how to maximize AI opportunities in education.