Peer-reviewed article
Teachers’ Perceptions of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood and Primary Education: Barriers, Ethical Concerns, and Perceived Impacts
Juan Luis Cabanillas-García, Desirée Ayuso del Puerto, María Cruz Sánchez Gómez ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study asked 183 Early Childhood and Primary Education teachers from 15 Spanish regions about generative AI in the classroom. It used an open-ended questionnaire and a thematic analysis of the answers. Teachers named insufficient training and limited digital skills as the main barriers. They were also worried about weaker critical thinking, irresponsible use, data privacy and unreliable AI-generated information. They saw some potential for supporting learning, but said the impact depends on teacher training, teacher guidance and the context of use.
Key points
- Insufficient training and limited digital competence are the main barriers to using generative AI.
- Main ethical concerns are a possible decline in students' critical thinking, irresponsible use, data privacy and reliability of AI-generated information.
- Teachers recognise the potential of generative AI to support learning.
- Teachers are more concerned about possible negative effects on creativity, effort and autonomous knowledge construction.
- Teachers stress that the educational impact depends on training, pedagogical mediation and context.
Limitations
The study reports teachers' perceptions only, gathered through an open-ended questionnaire, so it cannot show actual effects of generative AI on children's learning or well-being. The abstract does not say how the teachers were selected, so findings may not represent all teachers in Spain or elsewhere.
Abstract
The growing integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) into education has intensified the need to understand teachers’ perceptions of its implementation in the early stages of schooling. This study aimed to examine the barriers, ethical concerns, and perceived impact of GAI among Early Childhood and Primary Education teachers in Spain. An interpretive qualitative design was adopted using an open-ended questionnaire completed by 183 teachers from 15 Spanish autonomous communities. Data were analyzed through thematic content analysis in NVivo 14, resulting in a coding framework comprising three metacategories, 27 categories, and 98 subcategories. The findings indicate that insufficient training and limited digital competence constitute the main barriers to GAI integration, while ethical concerns focus primarily on the potential decline in students’ critical thinking, irresponsible use, data privacy, and the reliability of AI-generated information. Although teachers recognize the potential of GAI to support learning, they express greater concern about its possible negative effects on creativity, effort, and autonomous knowledge construction. Moreover, they consistently emphasize that its educational impact depends on teacher training, pedagogical mediation, and the context in which it is implemented. These findings highlight that the successful integration of GAI in Early Childhood and Primary Education requires strengthening teachers’ AI literacy and promoting pedagogically grounded and ethically responsible implementation strategies.