Jiao Zeng

Jiao Zeng

Novermber 20, 2025

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI), Technology acceptance, Grounded theory, Prudent adoption, Professional autonomy.

The deep integration of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) in educational contexts is largely contingent upon teacher acceptance. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, this study employed a grounded theory approach, conducting in-depth interviews with 21 primary school teachers in Guangdong Province, China. The findings reveal that teachers' acceptance of GenAI is not a straightforward adoption of technology but rather a prudent decision-making process characterized by an ongoing tension between "rational calculation" and "emotional experience." Specifically, influenced by the external environment, teachers meticulously weigh the "perceived advantages" and "perceived risks" of the technology, a calculus fundamentally moderated by their "role expectations." Ultimately, this internal tension manifests externally as a pattern of "low-frequency, on-demand, and selective" prudent adoption. The "Prudent Adoption Model under the Rational-Emotional Tension" constructed in this study not only uncovers that their "prudent" behavior is an assertion of professional autonomy but also provides a crucial contextualized extension to classical technology acceptance models. Furthermore, it offers profound implications for effectively supporting teachers as they navigate educational transformation in the digital-intelligent era.

© 2025, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license