Exploring K-12 teachers' general attitudes towards ai and curriculum needs for AI literacy course


Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi, Bilgisayar Ve Öğretim Teknolojileri Eğitimi Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2025

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: AMENA AKTER NIPA

Danışman: Tarkan Gürbüz

Özet:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming education by providing innovative tools that enhance teaching and learning. However, many educators remain uncertain about how to utilize AI effectively while ensuring ethical practices, highlighting the need for AI literacy in K-12 education. Before implementing AI literacy curricula, understanding teachers’ attitudes toward AI and their needs for successful adoption is essential.

This study explored K-12 teachers’ attitudes toward AI and their curriculum needs for implementing AI literacy. A mixed-method approach was adopted, employing the General Attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence Scale (GAAIS) to measure attitudes and open-ended survey questions to capture teachers’ perspectives. The study involved 40 teachers from public and private K-12 schools who voluntarily shared their views. Findings revealed that teachers hold moderately positive attitudes toward the beneficial aspects of AI (M = 3.33/5) and a somewhat forgiving attitude toward its negative aspects (M = 3.07/5), suggesting a general openness to AI integration in education.

Thematic analysis of teachers’ responses identified key needs for successful AI literacy implementation, including professional development training, technical support, comprehensive curriculum resources, and clear ethical and policy guidelines. Teachers also emphasized the importance of promoting responsible AI use and aligning curriculum content with real-world applications.

Overall, the study contributes to the growing field of AI in education by offering insights that can guide policymakers, curriculum developers, and educational leaders in designing effective AI literacy curricula for K-12 schools.