TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN DEAF EDUCATION IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping educational practice in ways that are especially consequential
for deaf learners. Its ability to achieve desired results, however, depends on teachers’ knowledge,
attitudes, and material conditions. This qualitative descriptive study examined how teachers in Akwa
Ibom State, Nigeria, understand and use AI in deaf education. Semi structured interviews were
conducted with fifteen teachers working in special and inclusive schools. The results were analyzed
using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings indicate a spectrum of awareness and emerging practice,
broad belief in AI’s value for communication access, participation, and learner independence, and
interlocking infrastructural and pedagogical barriers, including unreliable electricity and internet,
scarce devices and funding, limited training, and poor localization to Nigerian sign and classroom
contexts. The paper proposes a practical roadmap for responsible AI integration that emphasizes state
supported professional development, infrastructural investment, clear school-level implementation
routines, and codesign processes that localize tools for deaf learners. The study provides practice
based evidence to inform policy and guide responsible AI adoption in African deaf education.