The effect of the use of artificial intelligence tools in science education on secondary school students’ 21 st century skills competency perceptions and digital literacy

Gökçe H., NACAROĞLU O.

Education and Information Technologies, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10639-025-13853-6
  • Dergi Adı: Education and Information Technologies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), INSPEC
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: 21st century skills, Artificial intelligence tools, Digital literacy, Science education
  • Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study aimed to examine the effect of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in science education on middle school 7th grade students’ 21st century skills competency perceptions (21.cSCP) and digital literacy (DL). A one-group pretest-posttest experimental design, one of the quantitative research method designs, was used in the study. The sample of the study consisted of 66 seventh grade students. The 21.cSCP scale and the DL scale were used as quantitative data collection tools. The AI-oriented implementation process lasted a total of 10 weeks. As a result of the data analysis, no significant difference was found between the pre-test scores of the 21.cSCP scale (M = 131.30, SD = 15.33) and the post-test scores (M = 130.51, SD = 15.83). On the other hand, there was a significant difference in favor of the post-test between the scores obtained from the overall (Pre-test, M = 78.59; SD = 13.09; Post-test, M = 87.46, SD = 13.72) and the sub-dimensions of the DL scale. The eta squared statistic (η2 = 0.434) indicates a large effect size. It is recommended that the use of AI in science education and studies that consider experimental design should be expanded.