ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1619391
This article is part of the Research TopicAI Innovations in Education: Adaptive Learning and BeyondView all 16 articles
Exploring AI Tool Adoption in Higher Education: Evidence from a PLS-SEM Model Integrating Multimodal Literacy, Self-Efficacy, and University Support
Provisionally accepted
- 1Endicott College of International Studies, Woosong University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
- 2College of Tourism and Landscape Architecture, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
- 3Weifang University of Science and Technology, Weifang, Shandong, China
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Framed within the technology acceptance model, this study examines how multimodal literacy, self-efficacy, and university support affect students’ attitudes toward artificial intelligence tools and the students’ intentions to adopt them. Survey data from 498 students were analyzed using PLS-SEM 4.0 and SPSS 29, and the findings showed that the perceived usefulness of the AI tools was the strongest predictor of both attitude toward the tools and intention to use them. All three antecedent variables (multimodal literacy, self-efficacy, and university support) significantly impacted perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. By integrating individual dimensions and also institutional dimensions into the technology acceptance model, this study offers fresh insight into how AI tools might take root more effectively in higher education.
Keywords: Technology acceptance model, multimodal literacy, self-efficacy, university support, Structural Equation Modeling
Received: 28 Apr 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, An and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Qi An, College of Tourism and Landscape Architecture, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541006, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
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