Sustainable Artificial Intelligence Integration in Early Childhood Education: The Role of Teachers’ Thinking Styles in Shaping Attitudes

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into educational contexts; however, its effective implementation in early childhood education depends largely on teachers’ cognitive and attitudinal readiness. Despite the growing body of research on AI in education, limited attention has been given to the role of cognitive thinking styles in shaping teachers’ attitudes toward AI. This study examines the relationship between preschool teachers’ analytical and holistic thinking styles and their attitudes toward artificial AI. A quantitative correlational design was employed, and data were collected from 236 preschool teachers. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product–moment correlation, and simple linear regression analysis. The findings indicate that teachers’ attitudes toward AI are at a moderate level, with relatively lower levels of positive attitudes and moderate levels of negative perceptions. While no significant relationship was found between thinking styles and overall or positive attitudes, a small but statistically significant negative relationship was identified between thinking styles and negative attitudes (r = −0.236, p < 0.01). Regression analysis further showed that thinking styles explain a limited proportion of variance in negative attitudes (R2 = 0.058). These results suggest that cognitive thinking styles are associated with resistance-related dimensions of attitudes toward AI; however, their explanatory power is limited. The findings highlight the importance of considering additional cognitive, technological, and contextual variables in understanding teachers’ attitudes toward AI integration in early childhood education.