INFLUENCE OF LECTURERS’ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ON THEIR’ AWARENESS, READINESS AND UTILIZATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR EDUCATION IN A NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Globally, Artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled lecturers to conduct research, assess student work, and deliver teaching in novel and innovative ways. However, factors might influence how lecturers use AI. Therefore, this study evaluated how lecturers' years of experience affected their awareness, readiness and use of AI in the classroom at a Nigerian university. The study employed a descriptive survey as its research design. The study's population consisted of the 903 lecturers at Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, and a sample of 271 lecturers was selected using the proportional stratified random sampling approach. A developed validated, pilot tested questionnaire was used to collect data. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. One-way analysis of variance was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05. The hypotheses were tested using one-way analysis of variance at 0.05. With F(2,268) = 0.474, p = 0.623, p>0.05 and F(2,268) = 0.889, p = 0.4123, p>0.05, the study found no significant difference in the mean answer of university lecturers' awareness and readiness of AI for education based on their years of experience. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the mean answer of university lecturers on their use of AI for education depending on their years of experience, favouring those with less experience (F(2,268) = 3.185, p = 0.043, p<0.05). The study recommended among others, that university administration should create useful policies for medium and highly experienced lecturers to use AI.