The Relationship between Teachers' Competence in Using Artificial Intelligence and The Awareness of AI Ethics: A Case Study of a Famous School in Thailand

Abstract

Background and Aims: The relationship between teachers' competence in using AI and their awareness of AI ethics was examined through a case study of a famous school in Thailand. The objectives of this research are: 1) to study the level of teachers' competence to use AI and their level of awareness of AI ethics; 2) to compare teachers' competence to use AI and their awareness of AI ethics; and 3) to investigate the relationship between teachers' competence to use AI and their awareness of AI ethics, based on the case study of the aforementioned school.

Methodology: The sample group consisted of 140 teachers from an extra-large-scale school in Bangkok, selected using the Krejcie and Morgan sampling table. The sampling process involved stratified sampling based on subject areas, followed by simple random sampling. The research instrument was a five-point Likert scale questionnaire designed to assess teachers’ perspectives on their competence to use artificial intelligence and their awareness of AI ethics. The instrument demonstrated a consistency index ranging from 0.80 to 1.00 and a reliability coefficient of 0.962. Descriptive statistics, namely, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, reliability, and correlation coefficient, were employed for data analysis.

Results: The research results found that 1) The overall level of AI competence among teachers in the case study school was high. When examined by specific aspects, all were also at a high level, ranked from highest to lowest mean scores as follows: application ability, attribute, knowledge, and skills. Similarly, teachers’ overall awareness of AI ethics was at a high level. When considered by aspect, privacy ranked the highest, followed by human oversight and human agency, both at high levels. Equality, fairness, and non-discrimination recorded the lowest average, though still at a high level. 2) The comparison results based on personal background factors indicated that teachers who did not specify their gender, those belonging to Generation Z, and those in the student development activity group exhibited the highest average levels of AI competence and AI ethics awareness. 3) The analysis of the relationship between teachers’ AI competence and their awareness of AI ethics showed a very strong positive correlation.

Conclusion: In the case study of the school, the relationship between teachers' AI competence and AI ethics awareness was found to be influenced by different personal statuses. Teachers in the school had a high level of competence in all aspects, where the application ability aspect having the highest average among all. Moreover, the teachers demonstrated a high level of awareness in AI ethics across all aspects, with the privacy aspect ranking the highest. It was also found that teachers' AI competence and AI ethics awareness had a considerable, correlative relationship, where teachers' AI competence in the application ability aspect, and AI ethics awareness in the aspect of transparency and explainability were observed. This shows that teachers who have good AI application competency tend to be more aware of the reliability of data and the auditing to ensure correct and fair use. In this regard, the education system can employ the research findings to further manage educational institutions and develop educational personnel to be well-prepared, ready digital citizens.