An Artificial Intelligence Curriculum for Secondary School Students in Malaysia: Study Protocol

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) has increased the demand for AI talents globally, yet there remains a shortage, including in Malaysia. It has brought attention to the need to foster AI literacy among the younger generation through education, an area where research studies could be improved in developing countries, especially Malaysia. The current research aims to design and develop an intervention, an AI curriculum tailored for secondary school students in Malaysia, especially in Sarawak. The paper begins with a literature review, highlighting the current state of AI education in secondary schools globally and identifying the need for AI education. The methodology employs a design-based research (DBR) approach, allowing for iterative refinement of the intervention. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods will evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. The study targets lower secondary school students from the urban divisions in Sarawak, selecting 383 students for the baseline recruitment and 180 students for the intervention through a multistage cluster random sampling method. The study expects to improve the students' perceived competence, attitude, and motivation towards AI through the intervention.