Exploring Generative Ai Use in Creative Assignments among Art and Design Education Students at the Universiti Teknologi MARA

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has rapidly emerged as an influential technology in higher education, creating new possibilities for creative exploration, visual communication and digital production. Its growing use in art and design education, however, also raises questions concerning students’ technological readiness ethical awareness. This study examines the use of GenAI in creative assignments among students enrolled in the Art and Design Education Programme at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). A quantitative survey research design was employed to investigate Art and Design Education (ADE) students’ readiness and experiences in using GenAI tools including Midjourney, DALL-E, Adobe Firefly and ChatGPT during creative assignments. Data were collected from 158 undergraduate students from semester 2 to 8 of the Art and Design Education Programme. The questionnaire consisted of 15 items adapted from established technological readiness and technology acceptance perspectives involving the Technology Readiness Index (TRI 2.0) the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The instrument examined four areas involving optimism towards GenAI, visual ideation efficiency, pedagogical self-efficacy and ethical awareness. Descriptive analysis indicated a high overall level of readiness and perceived adoption of GenAI with a mean score of 4.29 (SD = 0.58). The findings suggest that ADE students generally perceive GenAI as a useful creative partner that supports conceptual brainstorming, visual experimentation, idea development and aspects of the digital production process. At the same time, the findings highlight the importance of developing ADE students’ awareness of authorship and ethical considerations when incorporating AI-generated content into their creative assignments. The study recommends that GenAI literacy, ethical AI practices and structured prompt development strategies be incorporated into art and design education curricula to support responsible and meaningful use of emerging technologies in creative learning.

Generative AI, Art and Design Education, Student Readiness, Creative Assignment

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