The critical role of trust in adopting AI-powered educational technology for learning: An instrument for measuring student perceptions

In recent decades, we have witnessed the democratization of AI-powered Educational Technology (AI-EdTech). However, despite the increased accessibility and evolving technological capabilities, its adoption is accompanied by significant challenges, predominantly rooted in social and psychological asp...

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Main Authors: Tanya Nazaretsky, Paola Mejia-Domenzain, Vinitra Swamy, Jibril Frej, Tanja Käser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X25000086
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author Tanya Nazaretsky
Paola Mejia-Domenzain
Vinitra Swamy
Jibril Frej
Tanja Käser
author_facet Tanya Nazaretsky
Paola Mejia-Domenzain
Vinitra Swamy
Jibril Frej
Tanja Käser
author_sort Tanya Nazaretsky
collection DOAJ
description In recent decades, we have witnessed the democratization of AI-powered Educational Technology (AI-EdTech). However, despite the increased accessibility and evolving technological capabilities, its adoption is accompanied by significant challenges, predominantly rooted in social and psychological aspects. At the same time, limited research has been conducted on human factors, especially trust, influencing students' readiness and willingness to adopt AI-EdTech. This study aims to bridge this gap by addressing the multidimensional nature of trust and developing a new instrument for measuring students' perceptions of adopting AI-EdTech. With 665 student responses, we employ Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis to provide evidence of the instrument's internal validity and identify four key factors influencing students' trust and readiness to adopt AI-EdTech. We then utilize Structural Equations Modeling to explore the causal relationships among these factors, confirming that students' trust in AI-EdTech positively influences AI-EdTech's perceived usefulness both directly and indirectly through AI-readiness. Finally, we use our instrument to analyze 665 student responses, covering eight courses and Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. Our contribution is two-fold. First, by introducing the empirically validated instrument, we address the need for more consistent and reliable assessments of trust-related factors in student adoption of AI-EdTech. Second, our findings confirm that student demographics, specifically gender and educational background, significantly correlated with their trust perceptions, emphasizing the importance of addressing the specific needs of students with various demographics.
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spelling doaj-art-bf2b508a77b149daaafc71752684cd752025-01-24T04:45:51ZengElsevierComputers and Education: Artificial Intelligence2666-920X2025-06-018100368The critical role of trust in adopting AI-powered educational technology for learning: An instrument for measuring student perceptionsTanya Nazaretsky0Paola Mejia-Domenzain1Vinitra Swamy2Jibril Frej3Tanja Käser4Corresponding author.; EPFL, Station 14, Lausanne, 1015, SwitzerlandEPFL, Station 14, Lausanne, 1015, SwitzerlandEPFL, Station 14, Lausanne, 1015, SwitzerlandEPFL, Station 14, Lausanne, 1015, SwitzerlandEPFL, Station 14, Lausanne, 1015, SwitzerlandIn recent decades, we have witnessed the democratization of AI-powered Educational Technology (AI-EdTech). However, despite the increased accessibility and evolving technological capabilities, its adoption is accompanied by significant challenges, predominantly rooted in social and psychological aspects. At the same time, limited research has been conducted on human factors, especially trust, influencing students' readiness and willingness to adopt AI-EdTech. This study aims to bridge this gap by addressing the multidimensional nature of trust and developing a new instrument for measuring students' perceptions of adopting AI-EdTech. With 665 student responses, we employ Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis to provide evidence of the instrument's internal validity and identify four key factors influencing students' trust and readiness to adopt AI-EdTech. We then utilize Structural Equations Modeling to explore the causal relationships among these factors, confirming that students' trust in AI-EdTech positively influences AI-EdTech's perceived usefulness both directly and indirectly through AI-readiness. Finally, we use our instrument to analyze 665 student responses, covering eight courses and Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. Our contribution is two-fold. First, by introducing the empirically validated instrument, we address the need for more consistent and reliable assessments of trust-related factors in student adoption of AI-EdTech. Second, our findings confirm that student demographics, specifically gender and educational background, significantly correlated with their trust perceptions, emphasizing the importance of addressing the specific needs of students with various demographics.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X25000086AIStudentsHuman factorsTrustHigher education
spellingShingle Tanya Nazaretsky
Paola Mejia-Domenzain
Vinitra Swamy
Jibril Frej
Tanja Käser
The critical role of trust in adopting AI-powered educational technology for learning: An instrument for measuring student perceptions
Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence
AI
Students
Human factors
Trust
Higher education
title The critical role of trust in adopting AI-powered educational technology for learning: An instrument for measuring student perceptions
title_full The critical role of trust in adopting AI-powered educational technology for learning: An instrument for measuring student perceptions
title_fullStr The critical role of trust in adopting AI-powered educational technology for learning: An instrument for measuring student perceptions
title_full_unstemmed The critical role of trust in adopting AI-powered educational technology for learning: An instrument for measuring student perceptions
title_short The critical role of trust in adopting AI-powered educational technology for learning: An instrument for measuring student perceptions
title_sort critical role of trust in adopting ai powered educational technology for learning an instrument for measuring student perceptions
topic AI
Students
Human factors
Trust
Higher education
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X25000086
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