INFLUENCE THE DIGITAL COMPETENCIES AND AI USAGE ON ISLAMIC TEACHERS’ FUNCTIONAL SKILLS IN SOUTHERN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of digital competencies and artificial intelligence (AI) usage on the functional skills of Islamic secondary school teachers in Southern Pakistan. In the midst of accelerating digital transformation, the integration of digital tools into education alongside AI opens up a debate on how able are teachers to integrate AI and how much they understand about AI and digital tools for education. The study involved a quantitative analysis of the responses from 450 Islamic teachers selected based on the criteria of a specific study on rural regions in South Punjab. Multiple linear regression was applied to measure how digital competencies and usage of AI, affect functional teaching skills, and the data were analyzed in SPSS 22. The findings show that digital competencies have a strong influence on the development functional skills (p = 0.000 < 0.05), while the adoption of the use of AI also has a statistically significant impact (p = 0.003 < 0.05), although it is moderate as resource and training factors limit its spread. The implication for teachers is the need to have the right digital skills and ethical integration of AI strategies. Duration: This study contributes to the developing literature on religious technologies in education, as well as offering practical suggestions to policymakers, teacher trainers and school managers about how to suitably design digital training frameworks to educate Islamic teachers in rural Pakistan.