Title: Student perceptions of ChatGPT in higher education: A comparative study of Slovenia and the United States of America (BI-US/24-26-016)
Head of the research group: doc. dr. Damijana Keržič ( 1. 7. 2024 – 30. 6. 2026)
An artificial intelligence-based chatbot, ChatGPT, was launched in November 2022 and can generate cohesive and informative human-like responses and engage in natural language conversations with users. In higher education, ChatGPT has sparked both excitement and scepticism. On the one hand, it is believed that ChatGPT will inevitably become an integral part of higher education, and therefore, some education practitioners recommend involving students with such tools to enrich the learning experience rather than prohibiting it. In this context, it is believed that Chat GPT can help students develop different skills, such as reading, writing, information analysis, critical thinking and problem-solving, generating practice problems, etc., being relevant in public administration practice and research. On the other hand, it is believed that ChatGPT will bring multiple challenges, such as copyright issues, bias, fairness, excessive reliance by students, data privacy and security, etc. Although some existing studies provide initial insights into the potentials and challenges of ChatGPT, they do this from a teacher rather than a student perspective. However, to fully understand the impact of ChatGPT on higher education, it is crucial to understand students’ experiences and perceptions of it. Namely, students’ perceptions are highly relevant for educators as they can significantly impact their motivation, engagement and academic achievement.
Therefore, the project aims to examine the perception of higher education students on ChatGPT by comparing Slovenia and the United States of America. For this purpose, an online questionnaire will be developed that will consist of several important aspects/sections relevant to the opportunities and challenges of ChatGPT for public administration students: 1) students’ awareness, focusing on how they are familiar with ChatGPT; 2) students’ knowledge, concentrating on the technical aspects, recent advancements, potential implications and limitations of ChatGPT; 3) ChatGPT capabilities, such as its ability to understand and respond in human language, improve various industries, and perform certain tasks better than humans; 4) students’ concerns, focusing on the potential negative consequences of ChatGPT, such as job loss, misuse, the spread of misinformation, and invasion of privacy; 5) students’ satisfaction, focusing on their experience interacting with ChatGPT; study issues from a student and teacher perspective; 6) implications for the labour market; 7) regulatory and ethical considerations; and 8) usage potential of ChatGPT in improving learning and working.
The project tries to help strengthen the knowledge of policymakers in Slovenia and the United States of America. Moreover, the project embeds the important elements of scalability, as the results will provide a framework for further empirical studies that are transferable to the international context. The exchange of specific knowledge and experience represents the added value of the collaboration between researchers from Slovenia and the United States of America. The main aims of collaboration are the following: 1) to combine the theoretical and empirical perspective of the presented research topic; 2) to establish a basis for future collaboration in research projects; and 3) to enhance/include collaboration between young scholars andexperienced researchers. All researchers involved in this project are experts in their corresponding fields. The proposed research will contribute systematically and comprehensively to thegeneral literature with new theoretical and empirical evidence. The empirical analysis will be embedded into a profound theoretical and methodological background. The results of thisresearch will contribute to academic and practical knowledge and will be helpful to researchers and practitioners in this field when exploring the further implications in both theory andpractice. Joint contributions are planned for selected international conferences. The outcome of the cooperation is also planned to be visible in the form of scientific papers published insome highly indexed (ISI) journals.
Duration (from/to):
from 1. 7. 2024 to 30. 6. 2026
Contracting Authority:
Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
Project Partner:
Alcorn State University, School of Business
Financing:
Memebers of the research group:
doc. dr. Damijana Keržič (vodja)
Members of the research group in the partner country:
prof. dr. Babu George
izr. prof. dr. Randolph Trappey
izr. prof. dr. Martha Ravola
doc. dr. Siddig Fagier
Objectives of bilateral cooperation activities
The main objectives of the cooperation are:
1) to combine the theoretical and empirical perspectives of the presented research topic;
2) to establish a basis for future cooperation on research projects; and
3) to strengthen/include cooperation between young and experienced researchers.
All the researchers involved in this bilateral cooperation activity are experts in their fields. The proposed research will contribute to the general literature with new theoretical and empirical evidence in a systematic and comprehensive way. The empirical analysis will be embedded in an in-depth theoretical and methodological background. The results of this research will contribute to academic and practical knowledge and will help researchers and practitioners in the field to conduct research in theory and practice. Complementarity will be exercised by combining theoretical and empirical questions. In addition, the bilateral cooperation activity is a good opportunity to involve young researchers in international cooperation, as both partners involve selected young PhD students or postdoctoral researchers in their research work. Students from both institutions will also benefit, as both leaders of the bilateral cooperation activity plan to present the main results of the research during their guest lectures at the partner institutions.Joint contributions to selected international conferences are foreseen. The outcome of the collaboration should also be visible in the form of scientific articles published in some highly indexed (ISI) journals.
