Undergraduate Students’ Awareness and Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence Tools for Learning in Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated undergraduate students' awareness and utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for learning in Katsina State, Nigeria. Utilizing a descriptive survey research design, the study targeted a population of 59,780 undergraduate students across three universities, from which a sample of 382 students (251 males and 131 females) was selected via proportionate sampling. Data were collected using a structured instrument adapted from Adebayo et al. (2021), validated through expert panel review, and established as reliable (α= 0.83). Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) answered the research questions, whereas independent samples t-tests evaluated the null hypotheses at the α = 0.05 significance level. The empirical results demonstrated that a substantial majority of undergraduates lack awareness of educational AI tools (75.1%) and do not utilize them for academic purposes (80.5%). Furthermore, inferential analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between male and female students regarding awareness (t(380) = 0.877, p = 0.401) or utilization (t(380) = 0.499, p = 0.508). These findings indicate uniform baseline competencies across genders, thereby refuting traditional assumptions within Gender Schema Theory that code advanced computing as a predominantly masculine domain. The study concludes that the primary impediments to AI adoption in higher education are institutional and structural rather than gender-dependent. Consequently, it is recommended that university administrators establish deliberate digital literacy programs, institutional stakeholders strengthen computing and internet infrastructure, and educational policymakers adopt gender-neutral guidelines for implementing educational technologies.