Walking in different shoes: unveiling the attitudes of Chinese university teachers and students towards generative AI

Abstract The rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies and applications, such as ChatGPT, has prompted significant changes to the landscape of higher education. Amidst the excitement and debates about the potential of GenAI in education, it is often too easy to ignore the perspectives and attitudes of students and teachers towards GenAI and their views on how technology should be integrated into the learning environment. This study fills a gap in the literature by conducting a survey of Chinese university students and teachers to explore and compare their use patterns and attitudes toward GenAI. Intriguingly, the results revealed that despite the differences in use patterns, both teachers and students exhibited similar positive attitudes toward the utility and positive impact of GenAI. However, students seemed to be more concerned about the use of GenAI tools than teachers. The study also examined if language teachers and non-language teachers have different use patterns and attitudes toward GenAI. The study highlights the significance of considering both teacher and student perspectives in policy-making and curriculum design related to GenAI, as well as the need to understand the nuanced attitudes of teachers from different disciplines to provide targeted support.