Higher education students' perceptions of ChatGPT: A global study of early reactions

Higher education students' perceptions of ChatGPT: A global study of early reactions

 

Dejan Ravšelj (1), Damijana Keržič (1), Nina Tomaževič (1), Lan Umek (1), Nejc Brezovar (1), Noorminshah A Iahad (2), Ali Abdulla Abdulla (3), Anait Akopyan (4), Magdalena Waleska Aldana Segura (5,6), Jehan AlHumaid (7), Mohamed Farouk Allam (8), et al.  

 

1. Faculty of Public Administration, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

2. Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

3. Department of Computer Science and IT, State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), Zanzibar, Tanzania.

4. Department of English for the Humanities, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

5. Education Department, Galileo University, Guatemala, Guatemala.

6. Physics Department, San Carlos de Guatemala University, Guatemala, Guatemala.

7. Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

8. Department of Family Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

 

PLoS One. 2025 Feb 5;20(2):e0315011. 

 

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315011. 

 

Abstract

The paper presents the most comprehensive and large-scale global study to date on how higher education students perceived the use of ChatGPT in early 2024. With a sample of 23,218 students from 109 countries and territories, the study reveals that students primarily used ChatGPT for brainstorming, summarizing texts, and finding research articles, with a few using it for professional and creative writing. They found it useful for simplifying complex information and summarizing content, but less reliable for providing information and supporting classroom learning, though some considered its information clearer than that from peers and teachers. Moreover, students agreed on the need for AI regulations at all levels due to concerns about ChatGPT promoting cheating, plagiarism, and social isolation. However, they believed ChatGPT could potentially enhance their access to knowledge and improve their learning experience, study efficiency, and chances of achieving good grades. While ChatGPT was perceived as effective in potentially improving AI literacy, digital communication, and content creation skills, it was less useful for interpersonal communication, decision-making, numeracy, native language proficiency, and the development of critical thinking skills. Students also felt that ChatGPT would boost demand for AI-related skills and facilitate remote work without significantly impacting unemployment. Emotionally, students mostly felt positive using ChatGPT, with curiosity and calmness being the most common emotions. Further examinations reveal variations in students' perceptions across different socio-demographic and geographic factors, with key factors influencing students' use of ChatGPT also being identified. Higher education institutions' managers and teachers may benefit from these findings while formulating the curricula and instructions/regulations for ChatGPT use, as well as when designing the teaching methods and assessment tools. Moreover, policymakers may also consider the findings when formulating strategies for secondary and higher education system development, especially in light of changing labor market needs and related digital skills development.

Ravšelj D, Keržič D, Tomaževič N, Umek L, Brezovar N, A Iahad N, Abdulla AA, Akopyan A, Aldana Segura MW, AlHumaid J, Allam MF, Alló M, Andoh RPK, Andronic O, Arthur YD, Aydın F, Badran A, Balbontín-Alvarado R, Ben Saad H, Bencsik A, Benning I, Besimi A, Bezerra DDS, Buizza C, Burro R, Bwalya A, Cachero C, Castillo-Briceno P, Castro H, Chai CS, Charalambous C, Chiu TKF, Clipa O, Colombari R, Corral Escobedo LJH, Costa E, Crețulescu RG, Crispino M, Cucari N, Dalton F, Demir Kaya M, Dumić-Čule I, Dwidienawati D, Ebardo R, Egbenya DL, Faris ME, Fečko M, Ferrinho P, Florea A, Fong CY, Francis Z, Ghilardi A, González-Fernández B, Hau D, Hossain MS, Hug T, Inasius F, Ismail MJ, Jahić H, Jessa MO, Kapanadze M, Kar SK, Kateeb ET, Kaya F, Khadri HO, Kikuchi M, Kobets VM, Kostova KM, Krasmane E, Lau J, Law WHC, Lazăr F, Lazović-Pita L, Lee VWY, Li J, López-Aguilar DV, Luca A, Luciano RG, Machin-Mastromatteo JD, Madi M, Manguele AL, Manrique RF, Mapulanga T, Marimon F, Marinova GI, Mas-Machuca M, Mejía-Rodríguez O, Meletiou-Mavrotheris M, Méndez-Prado SM, Meza-Cano JM, Mirķe E, Mishra A, Mital O, Mollica C, Morariu DI, Mospan N, Mukuka A, Navarro Jiménez SG, Nikaj I, Nisheva MM, Nisiforou E, Njiku J, Nomnian S, Nuredini-Mehmedi L, Nyamekye E, Obadić A, Okela AH, Olenik-Shemesh D, Ostoj I, Peralta-Rizzo KJ, Peštek A, Pilav-Velić A, Pires DRM, Rabin E, Raccanello D, Ramie A, Rashid MMU, Reuter RAP, Reyes V, Rodrigues AS, Rodway P, Ručinská S, Sadzaglishvili S, Salem AAMS, Savić G, Schepman A, Shahpo SM, Snouber A, Soler E, Sonyel B, Stefanova E, Stone A, Strzelecki A, Tanaka T, Tapia Cortes C, Teira-Fachado A, Tilga H, Titko J, Tolmach M, Turmudi D, Varela-Candamio L, Vekiri I, Vicentini G, Woyo E, Yorulmaz Ö, Yunus SAS, Zamfir AM, Zhou M, Aristovnik A. Higher education students' perceptions of ChatGPT: A global study of early reactions. PLoS One. 2025 Feb 5;20(2):e0315011. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315011

 

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315011