Artificial intelligence in early childhood classrooms: insights from in-service and pre-service teachers

This study examines the perceptions of in-service and pre-service preschool teachers regarding the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into early childhood education. It explores teachers’ views on AI’s pedagogical potential, associated ethical concerns-particularly data privacy and digital well-being-and their professional development needs. Using a qualitative case-study design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten in-service and five pre-service teachers in Türkiye. The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically following Creswell’s framework, with intercoder agreement exceeding 90 percent. Both groups viewed AI as a potentially valuable tool for supporting personalized learning, fostering creativity, and reducing teachers’ routine workload. However, in-service teachers expressed more practice-based concerns, including reduced face-to-face interaction, shortened attention spans, and uncertainties regarding the security and governance of children’s data. Pre-service teachers, while generally positive, demonstrated limited practical readiness, reflecting their primarily theoretical exposure to AI during teacher education. The findings highlight the need for targeted professional development, clearer ethical guidelines, and meaningful family engagement to ensure developmentally appropriate and responsible AI use in early childhood settings. This study offers preliminary yet informative insights that may guide future curriculum design, teacher-education initiatives, and emerging policy discussions surrounding the pedagogically sound and ethically responsible integration of AI in early learning environments.