CHATGPT USAGE AND ITS IMPACT ON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and technologies have dramatically transformed how educators and learners in educational institutions approach teaching, learning and child engagement, especially in early childhood education (ECE). ChatGPT, a new interactive conversational AI application, is another tool that has been gaining traction because of its ease of use, potential to enhance individualized learning experiences for young children, and accessibility. While the educational opportunities that AI brings to learning are promising, there are significant concerns about children's cognitive dependence, emotional development, ethical exposure, decrease in human interaction, and readiness of teachers and parents for AI-integrated learning environments. There are many existing studies on the use of ChatGPT in contexts of higher education and technological efficiency, and few studies have focused on the lived experiences, perceptions, and emotional realities of using ChatGPT in early childhood settings.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perceptions of educators, parents, and child development professionals about opportunities, challenges, and ramifications of the use of ChatGPT within early childhood education. A qualitative approach (interpretivist) was adopted to gather data from semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, classroom observations and document analysis with early childhood teachers, parents, curriculum specialists, and educational psychologists. Thematic analysis was used to explore the collected data and discover common themes, meanings and interpretations in the participant stories.

The results indicated there is great potential for ChatGPT to provide interactive learning, language development, creative engagement, personalized instruction, and educational accessibility. Participants acknowledged its potential for supporting storytelling, communication skills and child-centered digital learning experiences under the conditions of responsible use and under the guidance of a teacher. But there were also serious issues about emotional detachment, diminished social interaction, dependency on AI-based answers, ethical questions, misinformation, privacy issues and a loss of children's autonomous thinking and imaginative skills. The lack of age-appropriate AI policies and inadequate teacher preparation could also exacerbate developmental and pedagogical issues in early childhood settings, participants noted.