Secondary School Teachers’ Intentions on Integrating Artificial Intelligence in Mathematics Classrooms: A Case of Three Selected Schools in Mufulira District, Zambia

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the traditional way of how people perform their duties in their respective fields. Nearly every profession must be interested in knowing how best they can make use of this anticipated huge turn of things. This means that education system is also rapidly changing and it is a call to educators to upskill their careers for them to remain relevant in classrooms. With the record of underperformance of secondary school learners in mathematics, as revealed by the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ), performance reports over the years, it was necessary to investigate whether AI integration in mathematics classrooms would be a solution to underperformance in mathematics. This was in light of the evidence presented by researchers who have revealed that integrating AI in mathematics education improves learners’ understanding of mathematical concepts, thus the outcomes.  This study investigated secondary school mathematics teachers’ intentions on integrating artificial intelligence in mathematics classrooms. Three secondary schools of Mufulira district in Zambia were purposively selected to participate in the study. The study adopted a sequential embedded design on 127 mathematics teachers of Mufulira district who responded to an online questionnaire and 10 were interviewed from the three secondary schools. The findings showed that teachers are ready to adopt the technology despite limited knowledge of proper implementation in classroom setups. Results also revealed a need to strike a balance between the use of AI tools and also the need to promote critical thinking skills in mathematics among the learners. Thus there is need for policy makers to support the teachers, through training, in implementing ethical use of AI in mathematics classrooms.

Keywords: Secondary School Teachers, Intentions, Integrate, mathematics classrooms

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/17-5-11

Publication date: May 30^th 2026