Public divided on use of AI in schools, survey finds

According to a new survey, commissioned by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, the public is split how AI should be used in schools.

While most people support teachers to use AI to complete admin tasks such as lesson planning in schools, many oppose its use for marking, and for pupils to use it to improve punctuation and grammar in coursework. 

These findings come just weeks after new guidance on the use of generative AI in schools from the Department for Education and reports by The Sutton Trust and Teacher Tapp  on inconsistent uptake of AI in schools.  

The survey found that most people (59%) back teachers in schools using AI on admin tasks such as lesson planning, and 31% oppose it.  Approximately two thirds (62%) of UK adults oppose teachers using AI to mark coursework, while 27% support it.  

Eighty-nine per cent of those polled are against students using AI to entirely complete their school coursework, while 5% think it’s acceptable.  

People were split on students using AI to improve the punctuation and grammar of their coursework, with 46% in favour and 44% against.  

Only 16% of UK adults support reducing or removing coursework completed at home as the best way for schools to avoid student AI misuse.  

Fifty-two per cent of UK adults think responsible use of AI should be added to the secondary school curriculum, only 34% support adding it to the primary school curriculum. 

The top two concerns identified by UK adults about the use of AI in education were errors in AI information, and less human interaction.

Jill Duffy, chief executive of Cambridge’s UK exam board OCR, said: "AI is already in our schools and is not going away. A coordinated national strategy, with funding to ensure no schools are left behind, will build public confidence in its transformational potential.  

"The public is clear that coursework is too important to lose, even in the age of AI. It enables us to test different skills, and to reduce the intense volume of exams taken at 16. These findings should be seen as a challenge to all of us in education: find a way to adapt coursework so it is fit for the AI century."