UTILIZATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AMONG AGRICULTRAL EDUCATION LECTURERS IN THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN DELTA STATE OWNED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This study examined the utilization of artificial intelligence among agricultural education lecturers in the teaching of agricultural education in Delta State owned tertiary institution. Two research questions and two null hypotheses was formulated to direct the study. The study employed survey research method. The entire population of agricultural education male and female lecturers of (90) were involved in the study. The study is a census study therefore; the whole population was used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a structure questionnaire. Data collected was analysed with mean and standard deviation to answer the research question using SPSS version 25, while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.  The findings of the study showed that lecturers have more AI knowledge when utilizing AI technologies in their instructional activities in the University, AI can significantly improve efficiency in agricultural research and data analysis and AI-powered tools can simulate real-life farm conditions for practical agricultural training. The study concluded that a significant number of surveyed lecturers have limited use of AI technologies, reflecting a broader trend of low AI awareness among educators. Despite the observed low-level utilizing, a positive trend emerges as the majority of agricultural education lecturers recognized the potential advantages of integrating AI technologies in improving educational programs in Agricultural Education. It was recommended that government and institution administrators should organize a comprehensive training and capacity building programs for these lecturers, especially within the context of agricultural education, government should invest in the necessary technological infrastructure, including hardware and software, to support the integration of AI technologies into the curriculum.