Hsu, Hsiao-Ping and Gorman, Alan (2026) Placement stress and year-level differences in pre-service teachers’ use of generative AI: a mixed-methods study in an Irish initial teacher education programme. European Journal of Teacher Education. pp. 1-24. ISSN 0261-9768
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly visible in teacher education, with pre-service teachers (PSTs) using tools such as ChatGPT for lesson planning and workload management. Yet prior studies treat PSTs as a homogeneous group, overlooking how year-group context and placement stress relate to perceptions and uses of GenAI during placement. This study addresses this gap using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, combining survey and follow-up interviews. Quantitative data were collected from 190 PSTs across four years of a Bachelor of Education programme in Ireland, and qualitative insights were drawn from eight students, two from each year. Findings reveal cohort-level profiles, where placement stress is associated with forms of GenAI engagement, linked to caution in Year 1 and Year 2 accounts and pragmatic GenAI use in Year 3 and Year 4 accounts. The study offers a cohort-based Stress – Adoption Reconfiguration Pattern and highlights scaffolded, placement-sensitive GenAI preparation across initial teacher education.
nfu-2026-1668.pdf - Accepted Version
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