From strategy to classroom reality : bridging the cognitive gap in AI-driven education : a study of technological frames among AI strategists and educational leaders in Malta

Abstract

This dissertation examines the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education in Malta, with particular attention to the post-2022 mainstreaming of generative AI. It explores the alignment between the Malta AI Strategy and the perspectives of educational leaders responsible for interpreting and enacting policy within the education system. Using a qualitative, interpretive methodology, the study analyses semi-structured interviews with AI Strategists and Educational Leaders to examine how each group makes sense of AI’s nature, strategic purpose, and day-to-day use in education. The analysis is structured primarily through Orlikowski and Gash’s Technological Frames of Reference, informed by Giddens’ Structuration Theory to situate these interpretations within broader socio-institutional conditions, while Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model is used interpretively to illuminate issues of acceptance, readiness, and resistance to AI adoption. Findings indicate both convergence and divergence across participant groups. Both Strategists and Educational Leaders recognise AI’s potential to enhance efficiency, personalise learning, and support educators. However, Strategists more often frame AI as a disruptive catalyst requiring systemic change, whereas Educational Leaders tend to view it as a supplementary tool whose implementation is shaped by ethical, cultural, and infrastructural constraints. Leaders also foreground practical risks and barriers, including over-reliance, data privacy concerns, digital divides, and uneven digital literacy; issues that are less explicitly foregrounded in strategic policy framing. The study suggests that Malta’s AI-enabled educational transformation will depend on narrowing these interpretive and readiness gaps through inclusive policymaking, targeted professional learning, robust ethical safeguards, and stronger alignment between strategic aspirations and school-level realities. Addressing these divergences can support a fair, human-centred, and ethically grounded adoption of AI that empowers teachers, supports students, and strengthens societal preparedness for ongoing technological change.