AI IN EDUCATION: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS AI INTEGRATION AND USAGE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

This study investigated secondary school teachers’ attitudes toward the integration of 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching and their actual usage of AI tools in Southeast 
Nigeria. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 215 teachers in 
public secondary schools with two validated instruments: the Teachers’ Attitudes towards 
AI Integration Questionnaire (Cronbach’s α = .85) and the AI Usage Questionnaire 
(Cronbach’s α = .78). Descriptive statistics showed that most teachers used AI tools at 
least weekly, with usage dominated by ChatGPT, primarily to enhance content 
knowledge and generate teaching materials. A moderate positive correlation (r = .478, p 
< .001) was found between attitudes and AI usage, indicating that more favorable 
attitudes were associated with greater engagement. Independent samples t-tests and 
ANOVA revealed no significant differences in attitudes based on gender (d = 0.06), 
subject area (d = 0.06), or years of teaching experience (η² = 0.02). These findings 
underscore the growing role of AI in education and highlight the need for targeted training 
and access to diverse AI tools to ensure effective and equitable adoption among teachers.