Individual Assignment 15/03/2024

Part 1 Page 1 (5)

Samahir Elzaki Hassan Adam

Qualitative Research in Information

Systems

Research Proposal for

Exploring the Intersection of AI
and Preschool Education

Samahir Elzaki Hassan Adam

Spring 2024

Department of Informatics SE-901 87 Umeå www.umu.se/english

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Samahir Elzaki Hassan Adam

Abstract

This research will look at the possibilities of AI technologies in improving preschool

pedagogy. It seeks to understand how AI may be effectively incorporated to correspond
with educational goals, supplement formative evaluation and feedback, and assure long-
term application. The emphasis will be on curriculum alignment, novel assessment
procedures, and practical elements of AI integration for a sustainable future in preschool
education.

Introduction

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force across
various domains. From healthcare to finance, its impact is undeniable. However, one area
that remains ripe for exploration is its application in early childhood education. Preschool
education, with its focus on foundational learning and holistic development, presents a
unique context for integrating AI technologies. I am exploring the following research
question: How can AI tools be integrated into preschool education to optimize alignment
with learning objectives, empower educators with data-driven assessment, and ensure
sustainable learning benefits?

The research goes beyond the theoretical, investigating practical elements of AI

integration in the preschool environment and reaches beyond simplistic views of AI as a
replacement for educators. Instead, it explores its potential as a game-changing tool for
enhancing pedagogy. I will explore how AI can contribute to long-term sustainability in
early childhood education, focusing on curriculum alignment, novel assessment
procedures, and practical considerations for successful implementation. This research
seeks to shed light on how AI can become a valuable asset, empowering educators and
enriching the learning experience for our youngest learners.

This research holds particular interest for me. As a parent of three young children (all
under the age of six) and an educator with twelve years of experience, the last nine spent
in primary, middle, and high schools, I have developed a heightened awareness and a
critical perspective on the role of AI in education. My dual roles as a parent and teacher
have fostered a unique lens through which to examine this increasingly prominent aspect
of the learning process.

Area of Concern

Nowadays, children have access to AI-enabled tools, such as smart toys and AI assistants,
from an early age, but studies have shown that children lack a clear understanding of how
they work and of possible risks related to interactions with them (Rosella Gennari et. al,
2023, 1).

The research by (Rosella Gennari et. al, 2023, 7) revealed some examples for digital tools
that aim to engage young learners in AI education through interactive and playful
experiences, fostering their understanding of AI concepts in a fun and engaging manner. It
emphasized the need for future research to assess the long-term effects of these tools in

Department of Informatics SE-901 87 Umeå www.umu.se/english

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Samahir Elzaki Hassan Adam

school settings and to consider intersectional factors that may influence the effectiveness
of AI education programs.

Another study (by Sanusi et.al 2022, 21) revealed that designing ML curricula that are
flexible and can be integrated into various subject areas can help students learn about
machine learning concepts in a context that is relevant to their interests and future career
paths. This approach can also support the development of technical and computational
skills among students.

The focus thus far has been on primary, middle and high school students with very little
dedicated to preschool education and it's my belief that AI-integrated education can be
leveraged at a younger age. This gap fueled my interest in pursuing this research topic.

Theoretical framework

Given that the area of concern is relatively uncharted terrain, adopting an exploratory
stance with a bottom up approach; i.e., an inductive approach (Michael D. Meyer, 2013,
45) will suit this research best. To remain transparent and true to the research, an
Ethnographic study (Michael D. Meyer, 2013, 143) matches the objectives of probing
into the insights revealed by the data while allowing the researcher to get close to the
participants and observe them in their natural environment (Michael D. Meyer, 2013,
251). It also provides the best venue to study the values and taken-for-granted assumptions
about preschool education potential and suitability for such an AI integration that was
reserved for primary, middle and high school students (Michael D. Meyer, 2013, 144). In
this line, an ethnographic study regards children as competent informants about and
interpreters of their own and others' lives, and hence employs children's own stories
centrally within the research (James, 2011, 10). Ethnographic study is also appealing for
this research as it allows for everything to be viewed in context, allowing the researcher to
ascertain the tacit norms of how the integration of AI and ultimately the transition among
students, teachers and administrative personnel takes place. These unwritten principles are
rarely verbalized, but they can be identified via careful ethnographic study (Michael D.
Meyer, 2013, 144). This calls upon employing an interpretive view to make sense of the
data while acknowledging its inherent subjectivity (Michael D. Meyer, 2013, 67).

A research method (data collection plan)

To gather the data for this research, I propose two methods that are complementary to each
other. First, a set of semi-structured and unstructured in-depth interviews for
educators, parents and preschool administration staff to expose the multifaceted nature of
the phenomenon under study (Michael D. Meyer, 2013, 182). Since each group of
participants has different roles in the life of the young learners, it would be beneficial to
tap into their perception of the subject matter. The interviews will have the same core
structure with varying perspectives to take into account the view of each group (Michael
D. Meyer, 2013, 187). Those interviews will be refined and iterated throughout the
length of the study to discover the change in participants’ perceptions over time. The other
method is conducting a focus group of the young learners (ages 3 - 6) to account for their
responses to different stimuli related to AI tools, in their natural environment (Michael D.

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Meyer, 2013, 189). This also will be repeated over time to gauge if and how there has
been a change in their views. These methods will be augmented by field notes and
observations.

A data analysis approach

As data analysis is concerned, and as I grapple with the challenge of not only trimming
down the data, but also making sense of it in a way that would resonate with both myself
and the intended audience, a few more decisions are to be made (Michael D. Meyer, 2013,
250). First and given the exploratory nature of this research, an inductive approach
matches the objectives of the research (Michael D. Meyer, 2013, 251). Moving forwards
there is the compromise that I have to make to strike a delicate balance between the
temptation of collecting rich data from multiple sources and the related challenge of
diving deep into the data to discover insights. (Michael D. Meyer, 2013, 252). The most
difficult task thus far would be deciding on an analytical technique. It seems best to
employ content analysis because it provides a methodical approach to analyzing the
contents of a qualitative and interpretive text (Michael D. Meyer, 2013, 260). It also
makes sense to complement that with using Hermeneutics to make sense of the
viewpoints of participants that might be contradictory regarding the applicability,
sustainability, transition and eventually benefit from integrating AI tools into preschool
education (Michael D. Meyer, 2013, 275). It worth mentioning here that the my prior
knowledge and experience as a teacher and recently as a student who benefits from AI
tools serves the hermeneutic maxim of ‘No knowledge without foreknowledge’ as the
researchers own preconceptions serves to facilitate the interpretation of the data (Michael
D. Meyer, 2013, 282). A qualitative data analysis software will be employed; MAXQDA
to ease the process of generating and tracking codes during open, axial and selective
coding.

Timeline to completion

In the light of using ethnographic study for this research, it makes sense for it to be
conducted throughout a school year (9 – 10 months). Starting with the beginning of the
new year and reaching out to target preschools and refine the observations and notes on a
regular basis.

Ethical considerations

This research entails some special ethical issues I must address properly that stems from
the fact that it involves children at a very young age. These concerns comprise the
difficulty in getting informed consents from the children for the focus group, the power
dynamics between adults and children and the notion of children being ‘powerless’ and of
course the cultural perspective at play.
Ethnographic researchers raised these concerns in many studies such as involving young
children in research about AI education (James, A., 2011) and (Mac Naughton, Smith, &
Davis, 2007, 167) who advocated the children’s right to propose their perspective on such
subjects.

Department of Informatics SE-901 87 Umeå www.umu.se/english

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Samahir Elzaki Hassan Adam

References
 Myers Michael D., Qualitative research in business & management, 2013, second
edition.
 Rosella Gennari, Alessandra Melonio, Maria Angela Pellegrino and Mauro
D’Angelo, 15th Biannual Conference of the Italian SIGCHI Chapter (CHItaly
2023), September 20–22, 2023, Torino, Italy. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 9
pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3605390.3605393
 James, A. (2011). Ethnography in the study of children and childhood. In P.
Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamont, J. Lofland, & L. Lofland (Eds.), Handbook of
ethnography (pp. 1–22). London, U.K.: SAGE.
 Mac Naughton, G., Smith, K., & Davis, K. (2007). Researching with children. The
challenges and possibilities for building “child friendly” research. In A. J.
Hatch (Ed.), Early childhood qualitative research (pp. 167–184). New York, NY:
Routledge.
 A systematic review of teaching and learning machine learning in K‐12 education,
Ismaila Temitayo Sanusi,et.al (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11416-7

Department of Informatics SE-901 87 Umeå www.umu.se/english