From intuition to action: Exploring teachers’ ethical awareness in the use of AI tools in education

This study investigates how teachers perceive and understand ethical issues arising from the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, and identifies the factors influencing their ethical awareness. Grounded in the Social Intuitionist Model (SIM), which emphasizes intuitive and emotionally driven moral judgments, the research explores teachers’ ethical perceptions as shaped by classroom experiences (micro/meso contexts) and broader social, cultural, and institutional influences (macro contexts) surrounding AI integration. Using a case study approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 26 teachers from primary and secondary schools, selected for their experience with AI integration. Thematic analysis revealed a four-pathway intuitive process: Functional-First, Triggered Ethical Awakening, Ethical Reflection and Reevaluation, and Ethical Adjustment. Teachers initially adopted AI for efficiency, but ethical awareness emerged through discomfort with issues such as student overreliance, biased content, and privacy breaches. Factors influencing awareness were categorized into individual (e.g., reflective disposition, technical understanding), interpersonal (e.g., peer dialogue), and school elements (e.g., workload, institutional support). The findings revealed that ethical awareness is dynamic and socially embedded, often initiated by emotional responses and reinforced through professional interactions. The study contributes original insights into the intuitive mechanisms of ethical recognition for teachers in the Chinese context. It underscores the need for structured ethical training, supportive school environments, and policy alignment to foster responsible AI use in education. • Teachers' AI ethics awareness unfolds through four interconnected pathways of intuitive process. • Ethical concerns often triggered by discomfort, not formal reasoning. • Social context shapes teachers’ ethical recognition of AI issues. • Peer dialogue boosts ethical sensitivity. • Study uses SIM to explain moral intuition in AI-supported classrooms.