TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH AI: PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MEDIA BASED APPROACHES TO LEARNING

Abstract

The rapid adoption of AI as a learning tool is affecting how students learn, how teachers teach, and how academic assessment occurs. It should be noted that psychological factors can affect the effectiveness of implementing AI, in addition to the availability of the technology. The main objective of this quantitative study is to determine the impact of psychological factors on AI-supported learning outcomes and the degree that media exposure to AI-related content influences these factors. To accomplish this, a structured survey instrument is used with a stratified random sample of university faculty and students to identify the degree of their psychological readiness for learning with AI and their degree of expectation of the influence of psychological and media based factors on their level of current educational engagement using AI. Descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regression techniques are used to analyse the survey data for the purpose of testing the hypothesised relationships between the psychological readiness, self-efficacy, and media exposure (independent variables) and AI adoption in the learning and instructional practices (dependent variables). The results of the study indicated a significant positive correlation between the psychological readiness and AI adoption for learning and an additional significant positive correlation between media exposure and positive attitudes towards the use of AI for supporting learning. Additionally, from the regression analysis results, psychological readiness is identified as the most powerful predictor of integration of AI into the educational experience, followed closely by technology self-efficacy and the influence of media. This report identifies and indicates that technology alone not enable an effective transition into the use of AI as a tool in the classroom; developing psychological readiness to accept and responsibly utilize AI in an educational context also necessary. This study adds to the current scholarly literature on AI in education by combining media and psychological perspectives with the concept of AI-based instructional practices and providing practical recommendations to support the adaptation of AI-supported learning environments for various stakeholders such as policymakers, curriculum designers, and educators.