Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Department of Sport Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
2
Department of Physical Education, Lorestan University, Khorram Abad, Lorestan, Iran
3
Department of Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
4
Department of Physical Education, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Background and Purpose
The rapid advancement of technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), has significantly transformed education, altering teaching dynamics and learning processes at multiple levels. The potential benefits AI offers to higher education are vast, ranging from enhanced accessibility to fostering personalized and adaptive learning experiences tailored to individual student needs. However, alongside these promising opportunities lurk numerous challenges and caveats that, if unmanaged, can adversely affect educational outcomes, especially in specialized academic fields such as exercise science. This study aims to examine the dual role of AI in the academic realm, specifically focusing on faculty and student perceptions regarding its benefits and drawbacks. The scopes of inquiry include AI's impact on student motivation, creative capacities, critical thinking development, and its influence on the quality and validity of research outputs. This attention is particularly timely given the rapid AI integration in academic settings and the pressing need to marshal its advantages while mitigating risks.
Materials and Methods
Employing a qualitative research design, this study utilized thematic analysis to explore nuanced perspectives within the academic community. A purposive sample of 26 participants, composed of faculty members and students specializing in sport science, was selected to capture a diverse array of insights. Data collection involved conducting semi-structured interviews, enabling participants to articulate their lived experiences and reflective thoughts on AI integration within their teaching and research environments. Thematic coding followed a rigorous iterative process, uncovering recurrent themes representing both opportunities and potential threats associated with AI deployment in education.
Findings
The qualitative analysis yielded multifaceted insights highlighting the complex duality of AI’s role. Among the key opportunities, AI markedly expanded access to comprehensive reservoirs of knowledge, empowering students to undertake self-directed learning endeavors. This capacity for individualized education was especially advantageous for motivated and advanced learners, facilitating deeper engagement with subject matter and honing critical academic competencies such as independent inquiry and analytical reasoning. Faculty respondents also emphasized AI’s utility in automating and streamlining repetitive administrative tasks—grading, content curation, and learning management—thus freeing educators to explore innovative pedagogical approaches and to tailor interaction towards enhanced student engagement and mentorship.
Conversely, several challenges emerged prominently. A notable concern centered on the diminished role of human interaction within increasingly AI-mediated learning ecosystems, potentially dampening collaborative learning, student mentorship, and the fostering of critical intellectual discourse. Participants further cautioned about student overreliance on AI-driven automated solutions, which risks attenuating motivation and stifling creative problem-solving and independent critical thinking crucial to scholarly maturity. Ethical and legal dimensions surfaced as critical barriers, with apprehensions about data privacy, intellectual property, and the ethical stewardship of AI tools underscored by the cohort.
Moreover, participants highlighted the risk of superficial research work produced by students excessively dependent on AI assistance, threatening the depth, originality, and scholarly rigor of academic output. These findings collectively suggest the imperative for balanced, reflective integration of AI technologies, bolstered by strategic educational frameworks designed to safeguard the core values of academic inquiry while optimizing AI’s practical advantages.
Conclusion
Domestic academic discourse has predominantly lauded AI’s benefits, often overlooking attendant risks and potential pitfalls. Many universities have adopted an array of workshops focusing on AI applications in academic writing and research proposal development. While such initiatives appear progressive, they may inadvertently propagate a superficial and expedient approach to AI, undermining deep critical engagement and robust scholarly development. Therefore, it is essential that educational institutions not only promote the benefits of AI, but also actively educate and raise awareness about the potential threats and challenges associated with this technology. A holistic approach is needed to help students and faculty adapt effectively to AI. In this regard, universities should pay special attention to how they use AI tools and avoid superficial training and promotional activities that do not take into account students’ readiness and capabilities. AI’s facilitative role, while considerable, must be contextualized within a broader understanding that emphasizes ethical considerations, learner readiness, and capability building.
This study advocates for comprehensive educational policies that not only promote AI’s positive impact but concurrently raise faculty and student awareness regarding its limitations and challenges. Educational institutions bear the responsibility to eschew superficial training in favor of in-depth, ethically anchored programs that cultivate media literacy, critical evaluation skills, and ethical usage frameworks. Fostering such balanced competencies enables the academic community to leverage AI as a potent tool while preserving intellectual autonomy and research integrity.
In essence, AI-related educational interventions must nurture both technological proficiency and foundational ethical-intellectual frameworks, ensuring AI integration enhances rather than diminishes the quality of higher education outcomes.
Article Message
Artificial intelligence’s application in higher education offers unparalleled opportunities for personalized learning and fostering self-directed study skills. Yet without a moral compass and critical consciousness, AI risks eroding essential human elements of education—interaction, motivation, and deeply analytical scholarship—potentially fostering shallow academic pursuits.
Ethical Considerations
The study rigorously adhered to ethical standards, securing informed consent, safeguarding participant confidentiality, and ensuring fairness in data collection and analysis. No conflicts of interest or data manipulation occurred, and participant autonomy was fully respected.
Authors’ Contributions
Conceptualization: Sajjad Pashaie, Mohammad Abbaszadeh
Data Collection: Sajjad Pashaie, Javad Karimi
Data Analysis: Sajjad Pashaie, Javad Karimi, Mohammad Abbaszadeh
Manuscript Writing: Sajjad Pashaie, Javad Karimi
Review and Editing: Mohammad Abbaszadeh, Sajjad Pashaie, Javad Karimi, Hamed Golmohammadi
Responsible for Funding: None
Literature Review: Mohammad Abbaszadeh, Sajjad Pashaie, Javad Karimi, Hamed Golmohammadi
Project Manager: Sajjad Pashaie
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest pertaining to this study.
Acknowledgement
We sincerely thank all faculty and students who contributed their valuable insights.
Keywords
Subjects
