Exploring the mediating roles of self‑control, management, and meaningful learning self‑awareness in the relationship between academic self‑discipline and GAI acceptance

OpenAlex İngilizce

Abstract This study investigated the relationships between academic self-discipline, self-control and management, meaningful learning self-awareness, and generative artificial intelligence (GAI) acceptance among 597 teacher candidates at nine Turkish universities. A serial mediation model was proposed, hypothesizing that academic self-discipline influences GAI acceptance indirectly through self-control and management and meaningful learning self-awareness. Data were collected using four established scales. Structural equation modeling, employing robust maximum likelihood estimation due to non-normality of the data, revealed an excellent fit between the hypothesized model and the data. Results supported the serial mediation model: academic self-discipline positively predicted self-control and management, which in turn positively predicted meaningful learning self-awareness, which subsequently positively predicted GAI acceptance. The findings highlight the important roles of self-control, management and meaningful learning in shaping teacher candidates' acceptance of GAI. Implications for teacher education programs and future research are discussed.