ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION OF BUSINESS EDUCATION PROGRAMMES IN UNIVERSITIES IN NORTH CENTRAL, NIGERIA

Abstract

Traditional methods of instructional planning and assessment have proven inadequate in coping with the realities of lecturers grappling with surging student enrolments, limited instructional resources, and mounting pressure to deliver learning that aligns with rapidly evolving workplace demands. This often results in overburdened lecturers, delayed feedback and compromised academic integrity. Against this backdrop, this study investigated the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the implementation of business education curricula in universities within North Central, Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The study was a census of 46 business education lecturers across universities that offer business education. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Artificial Intelligence and Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (AICIQ), validated by experts and tested with a Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.94. All 46 copies of the instrument were retrieved, representing a 100% response rate. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions, while hypotheses were tested with one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and independent samples t-test at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that AI has a very high extent influence on instructional planning (mean = 3.59) and assessment and evaluation practices (mean = 3.44); no significant difference in respondents’ views on AI’s influence on instructional planning based on years of experience (F(3,43) = 2.11, p = 0.291 > 0.05). Likewise, no significant difference was found in perceptions of AI’s influence on assessment based on gender (t(44) = 2.05, p = 0.142 > 0.05). The study concludes that AI is a transformative tool for curriculum implementation in business education. The study recommends that Universities should organize regular workshops and professional development programmes to equip lecturers with the practical skills and confidence needed to effectively integrate AI into instructional planning aspect of the curriculum implementation. teaching and assessment.