TRANSFORMING EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN ZONE C OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the level at which artificial intelligence has been adopted in transforming educational management in Colleges of Education in Zone C of Benue State, Nigeria. The study answered three research questions. Descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. The population was 212 management staff in two public Colleges of Education in the study area. The sample comprised 68 management staff obtained through simple random sampling technique. Two researcher-made instruments: Educational Managers’ Artificial Intelligence Awareness Questionnaire (EMAIAQ) and Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence for Educational Management Questionnaire (UAIEMQ) were exposed to validity and reliability checks and used for data collection. While EMAIAQ had Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.86, UAIEMQ yielded a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.79. Data were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. Findings reveal that there was moderate level of AI awareness with a low level of AI utilisation among the management staff of the Colleges of Education and that lack of technical expertise, data security breaches, tendency of excessive dependence on AI and fear of job displacement are the issues affecting the use of AI in management of Colleges of Education. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Government should organise conferences, workshops and seminars to expose administrative staff in Colleges of Education to use AI tools for effective educational management. Government should also provide technological facilities in Colleges of Education to enhance educational managers’ awareness and utilisation of AI tools for effective educational management in Colleges of Education.