Impacts of Artificial Intelligence Training and Upskilling for Industrial Technology Education Lecturer’s Effectiveness in Nigeria for Industry 4.0 and Beyond

Abstract

This study examined the impacts of Artificial Intelligence training and upskilling for Industrial Technology Education lecturers’ effectiveness in Nigeria for industry 4.0 and beyond. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Population for the study was 55 respondents comprising 45 male lecturers and 10 female lecturers in the Departments of Industrial Technology Education in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Abia state and Technical Education in Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State. No sampling was employed, as the population was manageable in size. A 54-item structured questionnaire titled “Lecturers’ Effectiveness and Artificial Intelligence Questionnaire (LEAIQ)” was used to collect data for the study. The instrument was validated by two experts from the department of ITE and one expert from the Measurement and Evaluation unit in the department of Science Education, all in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State. A reliability coefficient of .86 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha formula. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while the t-test was used to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed that while ITE lecturers demonstrated high effectiveness in teaching activities, their effectiveness in research outputs and academic productivity was relatively low. The study also identified essential AI skills necessary for enhancing lecturers’ effectiveness, including computing, programming, machine learning, data analytics, and natural language processing skills. Furthermore, no significant gender-based differences were found in the lecturers’ effectiveness or perceived AI skill requirements. The authors recommend targeted AI capacity-building programmes, curriculum reforms, and continuous professional development to bridge the identified skill gaps and improve lecturers’ overall effectiveness.