Exploring Pre-service Teachers’ Generative AI Readiness and Behavioral Intentions: A Pilot Study

In recent years, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has emerged rapidly as a field encompassing advanced models and algorithms that can create unique content such as images, text, and audio. This technology holds significant potential across diverse domains; however, it also presents unique challenges, including ethical concerns, inaccuracies in generated content, and increased cognitive and emotional stress for educators who must adapt to fast-evolving technologies. The question of how should ChatGPT and similar Gen AI tools be incorporated into the education and training of teachers is one of the urgent priorities for global research. This study examines Finnish pre-service teachers’ readiness, experiences, and behavioral intentions regarding Gen AI adoption in their learning and teaching practices. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed quantitative survey data alongside qualitative responses, focusing on AI usage patterns, perceived usefulness, and challenges.Findings indicate a significant gap in Gen AI adoption, with 27% of participants having never used Gen AI tools at the time of survey (April-June, 2024), while the majority engaged sporadically. Despite low perceived accuracy, frequent users continued using Gen AI, suggesting that usability, efficiency, and creative support outweigh accuracy concerns in adoption decisions. Ideation and content creation were the most common Gen AI-supported tasks, whereas self-regulated, personalized learning, and prompt refinement remained underutilized, indicating a lack of awareness or confidence in Gen AI’s broader potential. Challenges primarily related to AI-generated output quality and prompting difficulties, with users preferring to modify AI outputs rather than refine prompts to improve responses. Strategies such as output modification and external verification were employed, though critical evaluation was not always explicitly stated. These findings highlight the need for structured AI literacy training, emphasizing prompt engineering, evaluative judgment, and strategic AI integration in teacher education.This study underscores the importance of developing Gen AI competencies among pre-service teachers to ensure effective, responsible, and pedagogically meaningful AI adoption. Future research should explore longitudinal AI adoption trends, cross-cultural comparisons, and the impact of AI literacy training on teaching practices.