The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education holds great promise for advancing learning, research, and overall academic experiences, fostering accessibility and equity. This aligns with the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal 4 - Quality Education, emphasizing inclusive and lifelong learning. To ensure successful AI integration, this study explores key student variables, such as awareness, perception, usage, challenges, and the impact of age and gender. With Five hypothesis guiding the study, the study employed a descriptive survey design with 529 higher education students that was randomly drawn using a stratified sampling technique. A scale Student’s Awareness, Perception, Usage and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence-Based Education Interventions for Learning and Research Scale was used to obtain data. Validities were ensured using expert judgement and empirical evidence of factor analysis. Cronbach alpha was used to obtain a reliability coefficient of .95. 83, 90 and .88. for the four sections of the scale respectively, while a coefficient of .93 was obtained for the scale as a whole. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, one-way ANOVA and two-way MANOVA. The research reveals a diverse spectrum of awareness, perception, usage, and challenges related to AI in education. Despite variations, a majority of students demonstrate above-average awareness and utilization of AI. Intriguingly, gender and age do not significantly impact students' awareness, perception, utilization, and challenges in AI-based education interventions, highlighting the potential universality of AI's positive influence in educational settings.
Eteng-Uket et al. (Wed,) studied this question.