INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS’ ETHICAL COMPETENCE IN INTEGRATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study investigated influence of teachers’ ethical competence in integration of artificial intelligence on students’ academic performance in public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. Two research objectives, two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a population of 27,082 teachers and students comprising 25,077 students and 2,005 teachers in the 35 public senior secondary schools in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas of Rivers State. The sample size of the study was 727 respondents comprising 394 students and 333 teachers. The sample size was determined using Taro Yamene’s formula. The stratified random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the sample size. The instrument for the study was a self-designed questionnaire titled; “Influence of Teachers’ Ethical Competence in Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Students’ Academic Performance in Public Senior

Secondary Schools Questionnaire’. The instrument was validated by experts in educational research. The reliability of the instrument gave a Cronbach Alpha index of 0.81 which was considered reliable. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while z-test statistics was used to test the formulated null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that, teachers’ competence in data privacy and confidentiality and teachers’ equity and inclusion in AI Application influence students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State. The study recommended among others that, the Ministry of Education in Rivers State should develop and implement continuous professional development programs focused on ethical AI integration for teachers.