Artificial intelligence technologies in the Russian educational context: educators views

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Introduction. Intelligent technologies for processing and generating natural language, machine learning and deep learning have the potential to qualitatively change both teaching methods and techniques and the education management system. Meanwhile, there is a question of whether the teaching community is ready for the conscious and effective implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in educational programs. The purpose of the study is to examine the degree of educators’ awareness about modern intelligent technologies, to understand their attitude towards AI and their proficiency in these technologies. Materials and Methods. Data collection was carried out by means of a survey. The questionnaire was completed by 132 respondents including university professors of humanities (13%), schools teachers (15%) and pre-school and kindergarten educators (72%). Based on the survey data, the researchers conducted a content analysis of responses to open-ended questions and a quantitative analysis of responses to closed- ended questions. In addition, the chi-squared test was employed to identify the relationship between the age category and the level of AI competence. Results. The study demonstrates that the majority of respondents do not have a clear understanding of the concept of artificial intelligence and do not have the competencies and experience sufficient to effectively implement AI in the educational process, which is especially typical for respondents over 40 years of age. Artificial intelligence is perceived as something interesting, promising and useful, although complex and requiring solutions to respond to negative cognitive and emotional impact on learners. Only 11% of respondents rate their level of competence as high, while the majority consider it average (56%), below average (19%) or low (14%). Statistical analysis shows a significant relationship between the age of respondents and the level of competence (χ 2 =8.852; the critical value of χ 2 at the significance level of p=0.05 is 7.815). The younger generation (20-40 years old) is more likely than the older generation (41-60 years old) to assess their level of AI competence as high. The study shows that the use of AI in teaching practice is unsystematic and often experimental in nature due to the lack of knowledge and practical skills, which might be explained by the novelty of the AI technologies as well as the scarcity of research-based and tested pedagogical models for their implementation. Practical Significance. The results of the study will have practical application in training and professional development programs for educators, as well as in improving digitalization of education. Further research should be aimed at creating and testing methods and techniques for integrating AI into educational programs of all levels and forms.