Integrating AI Tools Into Learning: A Study of Students’ Attitudes in Universities, Colleges, and Vocational Institutions

This study examines Lithuanian students’ attitudes toward AI integration across universities, colleges, and vocational schools (N = 803) using mixed methods combining quantitative surveys with qualitative content analysis. AI usage varies significantly by institution: 78.8% of university students, 75.5% of college students, and only 46.5% of vocational students use AI tools, with ChatGPT dominating across all sectors. Active users view AI more positively (Cramér’s V = 0.3), reporting three primary benefits: information accessibility (34.4%), learning facilitation (32.6%), and time efficiency (30.6%). The qualitative findings revealed a fundamental contradiction in the cognitive impact of AI integration. Students simultaneously perceive AI as a source of creativity and idea generation (10.9%) while fearing it causes creativity decline (14.1%). This duality extends to critical thinking, with 22.4% of respondents expressing concern about the loss of critical thinking and independence – the second most frequently cited risk after information reliability concerns (26.1%). This paradox is most pronounced among technically proficient students: computer sciences majors, despite 90.3% usage rates, reported the highest anxiety about overreliance, indicated by high concern for laziness and reduced effort (40.5%). Educational sciences students, with the lowest usage (66.7%), focus on threats to critical thinking (23.9%). These findings demonstrate that AI integration offers substantial opportunities but requires clear institutional guidelines and strategies to ensure that AI complements, rather than undermines, critical thinking and academic integrity. In vocational schools, it is recommended to raise students’ awareness of AI tools and their potential applications, since a significant share of students are still unaware of the impact of AI on their learning.