Assessing university students’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards artificial intelligence in education in Palestine

Artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications offer diverse and comprehensive advantages, particularly in the field of education, which in turn develops learning and teaching methods and positively impacts learners’ thinking. This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge, practice, and attitudes towards AI and its applications in education. This descriptive, correlational, quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was conducted among 236 students from Al-Ummah University College in Jerusalem. A structured online survey was distributed via social media from March to May 2025 for data collection. The study found that overall knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) scores (on a transformed 0–10 scale) were 7.20 for knowledge, 7.48 for practice, and 7.76 for attitude. Significant differences existed by gender and academic year. Strong positive correlations were confirmed among all three KAP components, with the strongest link being between attitude and practice. Students showed good knowledge and positive attitudes toward AI in education, and appropriate practice use of AI tools. Engagement with AI differed according by academic year and discipline, with higher involvement among early-year and engineering students, while infrastructural and institutional barriers restricted wider adoption. Universities should strengthen infrastructure, integrate AI into curricula, and provide targeted training to support effective and ethical AI use.