Educators’ Perceptions and Pedagogical Approaches in the Era of Generative Ai Integration: A Qualitative Study in Higher Education

The fast adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in higher education has created a dire necessity to comprehend the professional reaction of educators, but empirical studies that aim to explain their attitude and changes are limited, especially in the new educational setting, such as in Azerbaijan. This gap was addressed in the current study, which qualitatively investigated the Azerbaijani university teachers' attitude to GAI, their subsequent pedagogical practices, and their perceived problems and areas of support. The data was gathered through a two-phase qualitative design and an online survey (n = 30) and semi-structured interviews (n = 8) with educators of various faculties of a research-intensive university. Thematic analysis through inductive methods showed that educators saw the potential of GAI in individualized learning and administrative efficiency, but with moderate literacy (Mean = 3.42) and moderate willingness to adopt (Mean = 3.21), the academic integrity, assessment validity, and ‘AIgiarism’ were very important concerns. The essential results were the high positive correlation of AI literacy and perceived usefulness (r = 0.759) and the active adaptation of educators who were actively engaging in assessment redesign and process-oriented work, but they stated that they received inconsistent institutional support (Mean = 3.04, SD = 1.1). This paper concludes that the implementation of GAI needs to be contextualized through professional development initiatives and sound institutional policies, which directly resolve the ethical and pedagogical issues of educators. It provides evidence supporting the importance of educator-centered support when adopting responsible AI in higher education modernization.