Date

10-16-2025

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Alex Boggs

Keywords

artificial intelligence writing tools, higher education, generative AI, plagiarism

Disciplines

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences and perspectives of higher education faculty in the Southeastern United States on student use of artificial intelligence writing tools in their coursework. The theory guiding this study was Rogers’ diffusion of innovations, which considers the acceptance of innovations over time. The central research question for this study was, “What are the lived experiences and perspectives of higher education faculty regarding the use of artificial intelligence writing tools on student coursework in higher education?” This study employed a transcendental phenomenological approach, as the researcher sought to understand the perspectives and lived experiences of the participants. The participants consisted of 15 higher education faculty from the Southeastern United States. The data were collected from participants’ interviews, focus groups, and journal prompt replies. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s (1978) modified method of data analysis, which consisted of analysis of the data and finding the commonalities and differences of the individual participants’ responses. During the analysis of the data, four themes emerged concerning the participants’ lived experiences and perspectives regarding AI writing tool use by students in their coursework. These themes were positive benefits of AI writing tool use, negative effects of AI writing tool use, student AI tool use education, and faculty attitudes towards AI writing tool use.

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