Teacher educators' perspectives on generative AI : navigating opportunities, challenges, and professional development needs

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Nikou, Stavros and Atkinson, Tracy (2026) Teacher educators' perspectives on generative AI : navigating opportunities, challenges, and professional development needs. Interaction Design and Architecture. ISSN 2283-2998 (In Press)

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Abstract

Generative AI (GenAI) is redefining academic practices, prompting deeper reflection on how it should be integrated into education. Whilst considerable attention has been paid to student use, the perceptions of teacher educators remain comparatively underexplored. This study investigates teacher educators' perspectives on GenAI related to opportunities, challenges, and professional development needs. Participants were 56 teacher educators from a Scottish Initial Teacher Education institution who completed an online survey about how they perceive the impact of GenAI on their research and teaching practices and their professional development needs. Thematic analysis of the qualitative survey data highlighted five main themes: Augmenting Academic Work: Speed, Clarity, and Idea Generation; Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Transformation; Ethics, Integrity, and Trust as Central Tensions; Capability and Guidance Gaps; and the Uncertain Future of Academic Roles and Higher Education. Teacher educators reported both optimism regarding innovation and concerns related to ethics and pedagogical change. Moreover, the findings indicate a strong perceived need for institutional support and training in GenAI. By exploring the perspectives of teacher educators, these findings can help to better integrate GenAI into Initial Teacher Education and more generally higher education practice.

ORCID iDs

Nikou, Stavros ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9941-2125 and Atkinson, Tracy;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)