Factors influencing teachers’ adoption of artificial intelligence tools in K-12 education

The recent proliferation of Artificial Intelligence in Education, generative AI in education and intelligent learning classrooms has revolutionized the practice of K-12 education, and the uptake of AI-based instructional aids by teachers, however, is not uniform because of various technological, pedagogical and structural impediments. It is essential to comprehend the contexts that can make teachers adopt artificial intelligence tools as such understanding will guarantee the successful digital transformation of education and long-term educational innovation. This work has provided a literature review of the research work based on the PRISMA 2020 framework and synthesized the recent high-impact studies on the topic of AI adoption, teacher acceptance, and educational technology adoption. The research has systematically reviewed the available empirical and theoretical literature on the adoption utilizing models like the Technology Acceptance Model, UTAUT, and other extended models with the addition of AI literacy, teacher self-efficacy, institutional support, facilitating conditions, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence. Results show that the behavioral intention of teachers to use AI tools is highly influenced by perceived usefulness, ease of use, professional development opportunities, ethical concerns, and the organizational readiness and the emerging themes demonstrate the increased role of human-AI collaboration, adaptive learning, and responsible ethical AI in education. The synthesis also indicates that the key to effective implementation of AI in K-12 education lies not merely in technical infrastructure but also in the alignment of the pedagogy and in the support of the policies as well as the continuous training of AI readiness.