Abstract
The rapid integration of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) into educational practice has created both opportunities and challenges for pre-service teachers in Nigerian higher education institutions. While quantitative studies have examined predictors of AI usability and technological adaptation among pre-service teachers, few studies have explored the subjective, lived experiences of pre-service economics teachers navigating this technological transformation. This single-institution study investigated the lived experiences of 300-level Economics Education pre-service teachers at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria, regarding technology and AI integration in their teaching and learning. The study adopted a phenomenologically oriented qualitative design: ten participants were purposively selected from 300-level Economics Education students at OOU who had meaningful experience with technology and AI tools in their academic preparation; data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis procedure. Five interconnected themes emerged: navigating the promise and challenge of AI tools in learning, factors shaping technology adoption and confidence, the pedagogical gap between digital knowledge and classroom application, social and institutional dimensions of technology integration, and envisioning a digitally responsive economics teacher education. The findings reveal that while these pre-service economics teachers acknowledge the transformative potential of AI and digital tools, they experience significant challenges related to infrastructure, self-efficacy, pedagogical preparation, and institutional support that mediate the quality of their technological engagement. Infrastructural barriers concerned digital technology in general, whereas enthusiasm about analytic potential and concern about intellectual shortcuts related specifically to AI tools. Because the study draws on ten participants from one university, the findings are specific to the OOU context and are not intended to be generalised to all pre-service economics teachers in Ogun State. The study concludes that a holistic approach integrating technological training, institutional support, and subject-specific pedagogical development is essential for preparing economics teachers at OOU, and in comparable institutions, for the demands of twenty-first century classrooms.
- Abiodun, S. O., & Oyewole, O. (2025). Social media usage and cultural exchange as predictors of global economic awareness among pre-service economics teachers in Ogun State. Nigerian Journal of Educational Thoughts, Policy and Practice: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 1(1), 222–234.
- Adedoyin, O. B., & Soykan, E. (2023). COVID-19 pandemic and online learning: The challenges and opportunities. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(2), 863–875. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1813180
- Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman and Company.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
- Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
- Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008
- Ertmer, P. A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T. (2010). Teacher technology change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2010.10782551
- Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2004). Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93–106.
- Eze, S. C., Chinedu-Eze, V. C., & Bello, A. O. (2018). The utilisation of e-learning facilities in the educational delivery system of Nigeria: A study of M-University. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 15(1), Article 34. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0116-z
- Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2019). Artificial intelligence in education: Promises and implications for teaching and learning. Center for Curriculum Redesign.
- Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60–70.
- Kolade, S. A., & Ojo David, I. O. (2026). Virtual career counselling platforms, emotional mastery training and academic engagement of technical college students in Ogun State, Nigeria. Rima International Journal of Education, 5(4), 142–154. https://doi.org/10.65760/rijessu.v5.4.10
- Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.
- Malterud, K., Siersma, V. D., & Guassora, A. D. (2016). Sample size in qualitative interview studies: Guided by information power. Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1753–1760. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315617444
- Mishra, L., Gupta, T., & Shree, A. (2020). Online teaching-learning in higher education during lockdown period of COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 1, Article 100012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100012
- Ogundipe, O. G., & Oyewole, O. (2025). Technological proficiency and virtual collaboration as predictors of global adaptability among social studies pre-service teachers in Oyo State, Nigeria. African Journal of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 15(1), 166–178.
- Ojo, D. I. O., David, F. G., & Agwu, E. O. (2026). Monetary policy and inflation dynamics in Nigeria: Perceptions of pre-service teachers in colleges of education in Ogun State. International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Current Studies in Education, 3(1), 81–97.
- Oyewole, O. (2026). Media literacy and peer collaboration as predictors of civic engagement among pre-service teachers in Oyo State. Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society, 14(1), 1–11.
- Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
- Roll, I., & Wylie, R. (2016). Evolution and revolution in artificial intelligence in education. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 26(2), 582–599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-016-0110-3
- Selwyn, N. (2019). Should robots replace teachers? AI and the future of education. Polity Press.
- Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., Sang, G., Voogt, J., Fisser, P., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2012). Preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology in education: A synthesis of qualitative evidence. Computers & Education, 59(1), 134–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.10.009
- Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., Siddiq, F., & Scherer, R. (2016). Time for a new approach to prepare future teachers for educational technology use: Its meaning and measurement. Computers & Education, 94, 134–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.11.009
- UNESCO. (2023). Global education monitoring report 2023: Technology in education – A tool on whose terms? UNESCO Publishing.
- Van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. State University of New York Press.
- Venkatesh, V., & Bala, H. (2008). Technology acceptance model 3 and a research agenda on interventions. Decision Sciences, 39(2), 273–315. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.2008.00192.x
- Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Christensen, R., & Lai, K. W. (Eds.). (2018). Second handbook of information technology in primary and secondary education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71054-9
- Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education – Where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0
APA 7th edition
In-text citation: (Ojo et al., 2026)
Reference: Ojo, D. I. O., David, F. G., & Akindele, A. O. (2026). Lived Experiences of pre-service economics teachers with technology and AI integration at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society, 14(2), Article 9.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/19909
AMA 10th edition
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Ojo DIO, David FG, Akindele AO. Lived Experiences of pre-service economics teachers with technology and AI integration at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society. 2026;14(2), 9.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/19909
Chicago
In-text citation: (Ojo et al., 2026)
Reference: Ojo, David I. O, Folashade Grace David, and Abdullahi Omolade Akindele. "Lived Experiences of pre-service economics teachers with technology and AI integration at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria".
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society 2026 14 no. 2 (2026): 9.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/19909
Harvard
In-text citation: (Ojo et al., 2026)
Reference: Ojo, D. I. O., David, F. G., and Akindele, A. O. (2026). Lived Experiences of pre-service economics teachers with technology and AI integration at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society, 14(2), 9.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/19909
MLA
In-text citation: (Ojo et al., 2026)
Reference: Ojo, David I. O et al. "Lived Experiences of pre-service economics teachers with technology and AI integration at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria".
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society, vol. 14, no. 2, 2026, 9.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/19909
Vancouver
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Ojo DIO, David FG, Akindele AO. Lived Experiences of pre-service economics teachers with technology and AI integration at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria. Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society. 2026;14(2):9.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/19909