Education in the Age of AI: Perceptions, Challenges and Opportunities for Italian Teachers

Titolo Rivista EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY
Autori/Curatori Valentina Toci, Paola Nencioni, Francesca Rossi
Anno di pubblicazione 2025 Fascicolo 2024/2
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 16 P. 56-71 Dimensione file 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/ess2-2024oa18440
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Vedi l'articolo Scarica l'articolo open access

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

This study explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in Italian education, focusing on the perceptions of teachers involved in the European AI4T project. The analysis, based on a mixed approach, shows initial optimism towards the possibilities offered by AI, such as recognition of learning and automation of tasks. However, concerns also emerge about ethical issues such as privacy, responsibility for choices made and the impoverishment of interpersonal relationships. Despite the fact that AI is recognized as useful for simplifying administrative and teaching tasks, teachers consider it essential to maintain the human element in the educational process. The contribution invites reflection on the need for ethical regulation and ongoing literacy for responsible use of AI.

This study explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in Italian education, focusing on the perceptions of teachers involved in the European AI4T project. The analysis, based on a mixed approach, shows initial optimism towards the possibilities offered by AI, such as recognition of learning and automation of tasks. However, concerns also emerge about ethical issues such as privacy, responsibility for choices made and the impoverishment of interpersonal relationships. Despite the fact that AI is recognized as useful for simplifying administrative and teaching tasks, teachers consider it essential to maintain the human element in the educational process. The contribution invites reflection on the need for ethical regulation and ongoing literacy for responsible use of AI.

Keywords:; Artificial intelligence; Education; Teachers; Perceptions; Ethics

  1. Albace P., Jordan, P., Katz, S., Chounta, I. A., and McLaren, B. M. (2019). The impact of student model updates on contingent scaffolding in a natural-language tutoring system. In Artificial Intelligence in Education: 20th International Conference, AIED 2019, Chicago, IL, USA, June 25-29, 2019, Proceedings, Part I 20 (pp. 37-47). Springer International Publishing.
  2. Baker R. S., Cukier M. (2021). Towards sharing student models across learning systems. In Artificial Intelligence in Education: 22nd International Conference, AIED 2021, Utrecht, The Netherlands, June 14-18, 2021, Proceedings, Part II (pp. 60-69). Springer International Publishing.
  3. Braun V., Clarke V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2): 77-101. DOI: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
  4. Burgsteiner H., KanDlhoFer M., and Steinbauer G. (2016). IRobot: Teaching the basics of artificial intelligence in high schools. Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 30(1): 1-7. DOI: 10.1609/aaai.v30i1.9864.
  5. Cesaretti L. (2021). Intelligenza artificiale e educazione: Un incontro tra due mondi. Rischi e opportunità. Rivista di Scienze dell'Educazione, 59(1): 55-66.
  6. Chounta I. A., Bardone E., Raudsep A., and Pedaste M. (2022). Exploring teachers’ perceptions of artificial intelligence as a tool to support their practice in Estonian K-12 education. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32(3): 725-755.
  7. Creswell J. W., Plano Clark V. L. (2011). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
  8. Cuomo S., Biagini G., and Ranieri M. (2022). Artificial intelligence literacy: Che cos’è e come promuoverla. Dall’analisi della letteratura ad una proposta di framework. Media Education, 13(2): 161-172.
  9. Dahlin E. (2019). Are robots stealing our jobs?. Socius, 5: 1-14. DOI: 10.1177/2378023119846249.
  10. Davis J. R., Nanninga P. M., Hoare J. R. L., and Press A. J. (1989). Transferring scientific knowledge to natural resource managers using artificial intelligence concepts. Ecological Modelling, 46(1-2): 73-89.
  11. Deng R., Benckendorff P., and Gannaway D. (2020a). Learner engagement in MOOCs: Scale development and validation. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(1): 245‑ 262. DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12810.
  12. Elliott D., and Soifer E. (2022). AI technologies, privacy, and security. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 5, 60. DOI: 10.3389/FRAI.2022.826737.
  13. Fahimirad M., Kotamjani S. S. (2018). A review on application of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning in educational contexts. International Journal of Learning and Development, 8(4). DOI: 10.5296/ijld.v8i4.14057.
  14. Ferikoğlu D., Akgün E. (2022). An investigation of teachers’ artificial intelligence awareness: A scale development study. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology. DOI: 10.52380/mojet.2022.10.3.407.
  15. Floridi L. (2015). The Onlife Manifesto: Being human in a hyperconnected era. Springer. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-04093-6.pdf.
  16. Heffernan N. T., Heffernan C. L. (2014). The assistments ecosystem: Building a platform that brings scientists and teachers together for minimally invasive research on human learning and teaching. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 24(4): 470-497.
  17. Holmes W., Bialik M., and Fadel C. (2019). Artificial intelligence in education: Promises and implications for teaching and learning. Center for Curriculum Redesign. https://curriculumredesign.org/wp-content/uploads/CCR_AI-in-Ed_VersionII_Jan2019.pdf.
  18. Holstein K., Wortman Vaughan J., Daumé H. III, Dudik M., and Wallach H. (2019). Improving fairness in machine learning systems: What do industry practitioners need?. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-16). DOI: 10.1145/3290605.3300830.
  19. Huang R. (2021). Artificial intelligence in education: From research to practice. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-62050-5.
  20. Li J., Huang R. (2020). Exploration on the application of artificial intelligence in higher education. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange, 13(1): 57-68. DOI: 10.18785/jetde.1301.06.
  21. Luckin R. (2017). Towards artificial intelligence-based assessment systems. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(3): 1-3. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-017-0067.
  22. Luckin R. (2018). Machine learning and human intelligence: The future of education for the 21st century. UCL Institute of Education Press.
  23. Nguyen T., Lukowicz P., and Bui H. H. (2023). AI for social good in education: Opportunities and challenges. ACM Computing Surveys, 55(2): 1-37. DOI: 10.1145/3495162.
  24. Ouyang F., Peng M., and Chen J. (2022). Artificial intelligence in education: A comparative study of policies and practices in Asia and Europe. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange, 15(2): 45-60. DOI: 10.18785/jetde.1502.03.
  25. Paris A., Labetoulle A., Chesné J. F., Bezjak S., Butler D., Cardoso-Leite P., ... and Mori, S. (2023). AI4T National Evaluation Report-France (Doctoral dissertation, Laboratoire Formation et Apprentissages Professionnels; Cnesco). https://hal.science/hal-04556695/.
  26. Porayska-Pomsta K., Rajendran G. (2019). Accountability in human and artificial intelligence decision-making as the basis for diversity and educational inclusion. In Artificial Intelligence and Inclusive Education (pp. 39-59). Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-23261-6_3.
  27. Ranieri M. (2024). Intelligenza artificiale a scuola: Una lettura pedagogico-didattica delle sfide e delle opportunità. Rivista di Scienze dell'Educazione, 62(1): 11-30.
  28. Remian D. (2019). Augmenting Education: Ethical Considerations for Incorporating Artificial Intelligence in Education. Instructional Design Capstones Collection. https://scholarworks.umb.edu/instruction_capstone/52.
  29. Rosé C. P., McLaughlin E. A., Liu R., and Koedinger K. R. (2019). Explanatory learner models: Why machine learning (alone) is not the answer. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(6): 2943-2958. DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12831.
  30. Schiff D. (2021). Out of the laboratory and into the classroom: The future of artificial intelligence in education. AI & SOCIETY, 36(1): 331‑348. DOI: 10.1007/s00146-020-01033-8.
  31. Shum S. B., Luckin, R. (2019). Learning analytics and AI: Politics, pedagogy and practices. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(6): 2785-2793. DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12880.
  32. Tapalova O., Zhiyenbayeva N. (2022). Artificial intelligence in education: AIEd for personalised learning pathways. The Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 20(5): 259-267. DOI: 10.34190/ejel.20.5.2597.
  33. Tarus J. K., Niu Z., and Mustafa G. (2018). A review of artificial intelligence in e-learning systems for personalized learning support. Educational Technology & Society, 21(3): 57-68.
  34. Wang P., Wang Q. (2019). Building intelligent tutoring systems: The use of AI in educational technology. Computers & Education, 134: 1-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2019.02.015.
  35. Wang P., Wang Q. (2022). Artificial intelligence in education: Future trends and applications. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32(1): 125-140. DOI: 10.1007/s40593-021-00235-5.
  36. Wang Y., Liu X., and Li J. (2022). The integration of artificial intelligence in higher education: Opportunities and challenges. Educational Research Review, 36, 100453. DOI: 10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100453.
  37. Yang X., Zhang Y., and Cheng H. (2021). Application of artificial intelligence in modern education: A comprehensive review. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange, 14(2): 34-48. DOI 10.18785/jetde.1402.04.
  38. Zajko M. (2022). Artificial intelligence, algorithms, and social inequality: Sociological contributions to contemporary debates. Sociology Compass, 16(3), e12962. DOI: 10.1111/soc4.12962.

Valentina Toci, Paola Nencioni, Francesca Rossi, Education in the Age of AI: Perceptions, Challenges and Opportunities for Italian Teachers in "EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY" 2/2024, pp 56-71, DOI: 10.3280/ess2-2024oa18440