Artificial Intelligence, Algorithm Literacy, Locus of Control, and English Language Skills: a Study Among Bulgarian Students in Education

Abstract

This research, conducted in June 2023 at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, aimed at gaining in-depth insights of the extent to which Bulgarian Internet users in tertiary education had developed comprehension of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models and algorithm literacy. For the purposes of this study, a scale measuring the knowledge of generative AI models was devised and implemented, and an existing algorithm literacy scale was tested. Altogether, 125 university students across various majors in the field of education took part in the research. Findings revealed that the newly developed scale on generative AI models displayed good reliability and correlated positively with the measure for algorithm knowledge and students’ self-reported language skills. Group differences in relation to students’ university major were found to be significant for knowledge and use of generative AI models, language skills, and coding skills. As hypothesized, students in media education displayed high scores on most scales.