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Influence of Artificial Intelligence Tools on Professional Development of Academic Staff in Public Universities in Rivers State

Nwafor, Onyinyechi Faith, Eric Chikweru Amadi PhD, Gladys,Ejimle Aleru PhD

Abstract

This study investigated influence of Artificial Intelligence tools on professional development of academic staff in public universities in Rivers State. Three objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses guided the Study. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study. A population of 3,356 male and female lecturers from the three Public Universities in Rivers State were used for the study. A sample size of 357 male and female lecturers was used for the study. The sample size was determine using Taro Yamane formula, while proportionate stratified sampling technique was adopted in selecting a total of 159 male lecturers and 198 female lecturers from the three Public Universities in Rivers State. A self-developed questionnaire titled Influence of AI tools on Professional Development of Academic Staff Questionnaire (IAITPDAS) was used to collect data for the study. The instrument was validated by three experts in Department of Educational Management and Measurement and Evaluation, Rivers State University. A reliability index of 0.82 was obtained for the instruments using Cronbach Alpha method. Mean and Standard deviation were used to analyze the research questions while Z-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that to a high extent ChatGPT, Grammarly and Scholarcy influences the professional development of academic staff in Public Universities in Rivers State. Results from the hypotheses also reveal that there is no significant difference in the mean score of male and female academic staff on the influence of ChatGPT, Grammarly and Scholarcy on professional development of academic staff in public universities in Rivers State. In view of the above, it was recommended among others, that institutions should organize regular workshops and seminars to educate academic staff on the use of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Turnitin.

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