Artificial intelligence adoption and teachers’ technical literacy as drivers of administrative efficiency in vocational colleges in Shanghai, China

Abstract

Under the framework of China's "Education Modernization 2035" strategy, digital transformation is a priority project of the vocational education strategy. However, many Shanghai colleges and universities have the problem of AI adoption, technical literacy, and low administrative efficiency when scheduling classes and managing resources. This study expands the TAM and AI-TPACK framework to explore the impact of artificial intelligence technology adoption on management efficiency. This study attempts to: 1) Investigate the current state of AI adoption in administrative efficiencies. 2) Evaluate the effect of AI adoption on administrative efficiency. and 3) to increase administrative efficiency in Shanghai's vocational colleges by effectively managing AI technology adoption. A stratified random sampling was conducted on the administrators of 9 vocational colleges (6 public and 3 private), and 315 valid questionnaires were obtained. AMOS was used to carry out a structural equation model (SEM) analysis. The results demonstrate that: 1) The adoption of AI technology impacted administrative efficiency (0.462), and 2) Technical literacy impacted administrative efficiency (0.315). The adoption of AI technology has impacted technical proficiency (0.512). The mediator role of Technical Literacy, mediated through the Adoption of AI Technology and Administrative Efficiency (0.185), is partially supported. This research contributes to the study of digital transformation in vocational education by showing that administrative efficiency depends on how well teachers' technical skills match the use of AI. It highlights that digital investments guided by governance and the development of competencies through practical scenarios are key to enabling effective collaboration between humans and AI.

Keywords: AI adoption, administrative efficiency, teachers’ technical literacy, vocational colleges.

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