The Effectiveness of Applying Artificial Intelligence in Enhancing Education and Its Challenges According to the Opinions of First Cycle Teachers in Oman

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the degree of application of artificial intelligence in education and its challenges from the point of view of first grade teachers of basic education in the Sultanate of Oman, as well as highlighting the most important applications of artificial intelligence in education and its benefits and disadvantages. The study sample consisted of 200 teachers from the first grade of basic education in schools in Dhofar Governorate. The Artificial Intelligence and its Challenges Scale prepared by Al-Masoud et al. (2023) was applied, and validity and reliability were verified. The scale consists of three axes: lesson planning skills, lesson implementation skills, and lesson evaluation skills. It also aimed to identify the challenges of applying artificial intelligence in education. The study concluded with several recommendations to reduce the challenges faced. The results of the study showed a low level of (468.2 out of 5 on the five-point Likert scale) in the degree of application of artificial intelligence in education by teachers of the first grade of basic education, as the average application of lesson planning skills was about 550.2, and the average application of lesson implementation skills was 201.3, while the average application of lesson evaluation skills according to artificial intelligence was about 654.1. The results also showed that there is a high level of challenges in applying artificial intelligence skills in education, the arithmetic mean was about 480.3, and the challenges, according to the teachers' point of view, were that applying intelligence skills requires more effort than traditional teaching methods, the lack of technical support in schools in order to apply artificial intelligence effectively, the high cost of equipping classrooms to employ artificial intelligence, in addition to the teachers' lack of awareness of the importance of employing artificial intelligence in education, due to the scarcity of training programs in training teachers on artificial intelligence skills. The study resulted in a set of recommendations and proposals, including: preparing and training teachers on artificial intelligence applications in education, emphasizing the importance of technology and techniques in education, employing artificial intelligence applications in education to add an attractive environment, and to support the teacher and the learner, conducting studies on the impact of applying artificial intelligence in education on students' academic achievement, and a study on the application of artificial intelligence skills and its relationship to some demographic variables such as gender, specialization, educational qualification, and professional experience.