The Influence of Generative Artificial Intelligence Literacy Level on Critical Thinking Ability of Pre-Service Teachers in Cameroon = The Influence of Generative Artificial Intelligence Literacy Level on Critical Thinking Ability of Pre-Service Teachers in Cameroon

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study was carried out to examine the relationship existing between Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) literacy and critical thinking ability of pre-service teachers in the Higher Technical Teacher Training College (HTTTC), Kumba, Cameroon. Five research questions were asked: Is there any difference in HTTTC Kumba pre-service teachers’ GenAI prompting ability across their demographic characteristics? Is there any difference in HTTTC Kumba pre-service teachers’ dependence on GenAI across their demographic characteristics? Is there any difference in HTTTC Kumba pre-service teachers’ ethical awareness of GenAI across their demographic characteristics? Is there any difference in HTTTC Kumba pre-service teachers’ critical thinking ability across their demographic characteristics? Does the dependence on generative AI literacy influence critical thinking ability of pre-service teachers at HTTTC Kumba? Being a quantitative study, a structured questionnaire was prepared and administered to 278 (150 first cycle and 128 second cycle) pre-service teachers selected through a disproportionate random sampling technique. The data collected was cleaned and analyzed using SPSS. The descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed using T-test, regression, correlation and the one-way ANOVA, with the Welch and Scheffe post hoc test used each time there was a statistically significant relationship between the variables. Based on the different constructs adopted in this study, there exists a moderate to high prompting skills amongst pre-service teachers, which varies with respect to their demographic characteristics without any significant statistical difference. The same holds for the dependence, with moderate to high level of GenAI dependency among participants, with strong prompting skills and functional dependence on AI tools, but moderate ethical awareness. Two demographic characteristics (Age and department) significantly influenced prompting ability and dependence. Ethical awareness showed differences across the three age groups (15-20, 21-25, and 26+). The correlation showed a weak yet positive relationship between dependence on GenAI and the critical-thinking ability of pre-service teachers, with the conviction that if GenAI is properly evaluated and used critically, it will have a positive impact. Conclusively, if AI is used properly and integrated into teacher training, it will produce reflective, responsible, and innovative educators. The recommendations will be to ensure that AI literacy curricula are institutionalized for teacher training and make sure skills in prompt engineering, AI ethics, and critical thinking be taught across all the different departments.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Chapter I. Introduction 1
• 1.1 Background of the Study 1
• 1.2 Problem Statement 3
• 1.3 Purpose of the Study 5
• 1.4 Research Question 5
• 1.5 Definition of Terms 6
• 1.6 Significance of the Study 8
• Chapter II. Literature Review 10
• 2.1 Conceptual Framework 10
• 2.1.1 The Advent of Artificial Intelligence. 10
• 2.1.2 Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) 13
• 2.1.3 Generative Artificial Intelligence in Education 15
• 2.1.4 Artificial Intelligence Literacy 17
• 2.1.5 Prompting Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (Prompt Engineering) 21
• 2.1.6 Ethical Consideration 22
• 2.1.7 Cameroon Educational System 25
• 2.1.8 Critical Thinking 26
• 2.1.9 Teacher Education 29
• 2.1.10 Technical Teacher Training 30
• 2.2 Empirical Review 31
• Chapter III. Research Methodology 41
• 3.1 Introduction 41
• 3.2 Research Design 41
• 3.3 Research Area 42
• 3.4 Research Subjects 44
• 3.5 The Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents 45
• 3.5.1 Gender 45
• 3.5.2 Cycle 45
• 3.5.3 Entry Courses 47
• 3.6 Sampling Technique and Procedure 49
• 3.7 Data Collection Method 50
• 3.8 Analysis Methods 52
• 3.8.1 Data Preparation and Cleaning 52
• 3.9 Methods of Processing Analysis Data 52
• Chapter IV. Results 58
• 4.1 Introduction 58
• 4.2 Analysis of differences in the prompting ability of GenAI by pre-service teachers based on their demographic variables 59
• Analysis of differences by cycle 59
• Analysis of differences by Age 62
• Analysis of differences by departments 64
• Analysis of differences by Entry Course 66
• 4.3 Analysis of differences of dependence on GenAI by pre-service teachers based on their demographic variables 67
• Analysis of differences by cycle 67
• Analysis of differences by Age 69
• Analysis of differences by department 71
• Analysis of differences by entry course 73
• 4.4 Analysis of differences in ethical awareness of GenAI by pre-service teachers based on their demographic variables 75
• Analysis of differences by Cycle 75
• Analysis of difference by Age 77
• Analysis of differences by department 79
• Analysis of differences by entry subject 79
• 4.5 Analysis of differences in critical thinking ability of pre-service teachers based on their demographic variables 82
• Analysis of differences by cycle 82
• Analysis of differences by age 83
• Analysis of differences by entry subject 87
• 4.6 Influence of generative AI literacy on critical thinking ability 89
• Chapter V. Discussion 94
• 5.1 Introduction 94
• 5.2 Discussion of Findings 94
• Chapter VI. Conclusion and Recommendations 104
• 5.1 Introduction 104
• 5.2 Conclusion 104
• 5.3 Limitations of the Study 107
• 5.4 Recommendations 109
• 5.4.1 Higher Technical Teachers Training College, Kumba 109
• 5.4.2 Lecturers of the Higher Technical Teachers’ Training College, Kumba. 110
• 5.4.3 Policy Makers and the Ministry of Higher Education 111
• 5.4.4 Pre-Service Teachers 112
• 5.4.5 For Future Researchers 113
• References 115
• 논문요약 130
• Appendix 1. Questionnaire 132