ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1628557
This article is part of the Research TopicAI Innovations in Education: Adaptive Learning and BeyondView all 14 articles
Influence of Theoretical & Practical Artificial Intelligence (AI) Knowledge on the Primary School Teachers' Sustainable AI Integration Ability: Mediating Effects of Beliefs and Attitudes
Provisionally accepted
- 1Near East University, Lefkosa, Cyprus
- 2Cyprus International University, Nicosia, Cyprus
- 3University of Kyrenia, kyrenia, Cyprus
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Artificial intelligence (AI) has great potential to be integrated into education to improve teaching and learning practices. However, the attainment of effective and sustainable AI tools usage in the primary education of the teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes is critical. This study examines the impact of theoretical and practical AI knowledge on the sustainable integration of AI in primary school classrooms, with a focus on the mediating role of teachers' beliefs and attitudes. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 340 primary school teachers in Northern Cyprus. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the relationships between AI knowledge, beliefs and attitudes and sustainable AI integration. Findings indicate that both theoretical and practical AI knowledge indirectly contribute to the integration of AI. Specifically, the beliefs and attitudes of teachers toward AI are a critical mediator that maintains the relationship. The results underscore the importance of training teachers to enhance their understanding of AI, cultivate positive attitudes, and boost their confidence in AI technologies. To offer better strategies that enhance the sustainable integration of AI in primary education, educational policymakers and institutions must consider these psychological factors that need to be addressed. This research contributes to the emerging body of work on AI in education, in general, and the interplay between knowledge, attitudes, and AI adoption, in particular, emphasising the need for a holistic strategy towards teacher development.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, Primary education, theoretical AI knowledge, practical AI knowledge, Beliefs and attitudes, sustainable AI integration, teachers
Received: 14 May 2025; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kazmaci, Cek, Altinay, Altinay and Dagli. 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: Kemal Cek, Cyprus International University, Nicosia, Cyprus
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