Secondary school teachers' metaphorical perceptions of artificial intelligence

This research aims to reveal the perceptions of secondary school teachers about artificial intelligence. The study group of the research consists of 293 secondary school teachers. Phenomenology design was used in this study in which qualitative research method was used. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher. Content analysis method was used to analyse the data. According to the results of the research, 293 participants produced 74 different metaphors. The metaphors produced by the participants were categorised under 8 different conceptual themes in terms of their common characteristics. It was revealed that the metaphors produced most by the participants were in the category of "Artificial intelligence is a helpful assistant who solves problems in every subject". It was determined that secondary school teachers had a mostly positive perception of artificial intelligence. It was revealed that artificial intelligence is in a continuous development process by constantly updating the information it has; thanks to the information it has, it provides creative solutions to problems by providing convenience in terms of processing information in the life of users and in this sense, artificial intelligence is perceived positively as a door to the future. In addition, it was determined that a small number of participants was afraid and anxiety that artificial intelligence would eliminate some professions in the future and in this sense, they had a negative perception of artificial intelligence. These results revealed that secondary school teachers do not have accurate but sufficient knowledge about artificial intelligence. According to the results of the research, it can be suggested that necessary legal, ethical and security measures should be taken to eliminate the concerns and fears in the minds of teachers about artificial intelligence, and in-service training activities should be carried out to inform them about current developments on this subject.