Exploring the Perspectives of Teachers of Students with Intellectual Disabilities Toward the Impact of Using Artificial Intelligence Tools on Their Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this research, which was conducted in central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), was to examine the perceptions of teachers of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) about the influence of utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) tools on their students’ academic achievement. Fifty-four special education teachers teaching students with ID participated in the study by completing an online survey. The findings reveal that teachers strongly agreed that using AI tools may help decrease the loss of instructional time. However, the other teachers had a low perception of their ability to apply AI tools. Furthermore, no statistically significant differences were found in the teachers’ perceptions of the influence of using AI tools on their students’ academic achievement according to gender or most grade levels taught. However, statistically significant differences were found according to training status, as those teachers who had training in AI reported a higher student academic achievement than the teachers who had not received any training. Also, there were differences between teachers with bachelor’s degrees and teachers with master degrees as well as with doctoral degrees. In addition, a strong and positive correlation between teachers’ use of AI tools and their students’ academic performance was found. Moreover, the results revealed that teachers’ use of AI predicted students’ academic achievement significantly.