Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood Education: Perceptions of Teachers in Sargodha, Pakistan

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is shaping the future of education by providing personalized learning experiences, streamlining administrative tasks, and improving engagement and interaction with students. But in developing countries such as Pakistan, teachers and students are not aware of such technological innovations to the greater extent. This is a quantitative study to explore the perception of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) teachers of public schools of tehsil Shahpur in district Sargodha about the integration of AI in ECCE classrooms. A cross sectional survey was carried out; 100 ECCE teachers were selected from public schools of tehsil Shahpur randomly. The modified and validated Urdu questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to gather data. The results showed that AI awareness (M=2.85) and digital literacy (M=2.55) were at low to moderate levels. The attitudes of teachers were mixed: they had medium perceived usefulness (M=3.42) and low perceived ease of use (M=2.58). Infrastructural barriers were a major concern (93% mentioning electricity as a major barrier), cultural incompatibility was a major concern (M=3.72 on concerns about AI teaching moral values) and the fear of job displacement was a major concern (65% expressed this concern). The factor that most strongly predicted behavioral intention to use AI is perceived ease of use. In conclusion, the study suggests that teachers understand the possibility of the benefits of using AI, but the move towards using AI in ECCE schools in Shahpur is still premature due to missing foundational infrastructure, teacher capacity building, cultural issues, and equity.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Early Childhood Care and Education, Teacher Perceptions, Public Schools, Sargodha Pakistan, Technology Acceptance Model, Digital Divide