AI poses significant time-saving benefits to teachers, but training and confidence hurdles persist

Futuresource Consulting has released the results of its international study into the use of AI in schools. Conducted with nearly 1,000 teachers, and carried out across the USA, UK, Netherlands, Germany and Italy, the research evaluates the current and future impact of AI in education. 

As well as questioning teachers about current AI usage, and how it could drive efficiencies and improve teaching standards, the Futuresource study also uncovered the ways that teachers are managing and guiding students on AI tool usage. And while there is much excitement surrounding the potential for AI in education, there are also concerns and confidence issues.  

Significant time-saving opportunities

Across all countries surveyed by Futuresource, the time-saving element of AI has been seen as one of the most important benefits for teachers. In the UK, nearly 45% of respondents saved up to two hours a week using AI to build students’ core skills. In the USA, more than 40% of respondents recorded over an hour of time-savings per week by using AI tools to assist students with their literacy and numeracy skills. 

“Timesaving is an immediate and practical advantage of AI,” says Claire Kerrison, Principal Analyst at Futuresource Consulting. “And importantly, it’s being felt across multiple countries and use cases. High workloads are ubiquitous among teachers, so any tools that help alleviate this burden will encourage the deployment of AI.”  

Safeguarding, content creation, student data reporting, student/parent communications, and auto-generated assessments are other key AI use cases that are freeing up time for teachers. 

Lack of teacher training and confidence present barriers

Despite teachers becoming more engaged with AI in the classroom, there are key barriers surrounding confidence and lack of training.  

“Our study found that just over two-thirds of teachers in the USA are relatively familiar with the concept of AI,” says Kerrison. “Yet the problem is that most of this knowledge comes from other teachers and colleagues.  

“As a result, insufficient training in AI usage is by far the largest factor of concern with teachers. Many told us that they have low levels of confidence when it comes to integrating AI into teaching practices. What’s more, only 30% reported to have received any form of training at all.” 

European AI confidence levels low

Across the European countries surveyed, there’s a similar lack of confidence surrounding the ability of teachers to integrate AI into their teaching practices. Respondents reported an average confidence score of only 2.8, a fairly low rating on a scale that measures three as neutral. 

This largely correlates to the substantial number of European teachers in the study who are yet to receive AI training, and do not expect to receive it in the near future. The findings suggest that this lack of guidance and clarity is directly contributing to poor confidence. 

“This gap between conceptual familiarity and practical confidence presents a clear opportunity for vendors,” says Kerrison. “Regardless of the country or continent, by providing dedicated, specialised AI knowledge sources to schools and districts, vendors can enable teachers to implement AI into their daily teaching practices.” 

Plagiarism a key concern

“Our survey shows that the popularity of AI in schools is on the rise,” says Kerrison. “However, teachers everywhere still have reservations about fully integrating AI into the classroom. Beyond the lack of organised training, many believe AI poses the risk of increasing plagiarism." 

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About the author

Claire Kerrison

Claire Kerrison leads the Education team, overseeing Futuresource’s quarterly K-12 PC tracker and end-user research programs. Claire is closely involved in the formation and delivery of custom projects covering the EdTech sphere.

Claire joined Futuresource in 2011 from the University of Birmingham where she collaborated on a broad range of market tracking and strategic projects covering the Displays industry. Claire went on to lead the Displays team, with a focus on developments in the Front Projector market.