Education
AI use among UK teachers doubles, but working hours still don't come down
Key Points
Around 80 percent of UK teachers now regularly use AI in their work, although the minority say it has cut their hours. Research from YouGov shows that AI use among teachers has doubled in the past year. Among those who use it, just over half (51 percent) said it had reduced their workload, but only around a third (35 percent) said they were working fewer hours as a result, according to the poll of 1,033 teachers by YouGov.
Around 80 percent of UK teachers now regularly use AI in their work, although the minority say it has cut their hours. Research from YouGov shows that AI use among teachers has doubled in the past year. Among those who use it, just over half (51 percent) said it had reduced their workload, but only around a third (35 percent) said they were working fewer hours as a result, according to the poll of 1,033 teachers by YouGov. Although some time was saved with AI, that was more than made up for with demand to complete other tasks, resulting in 55 percent of teachers who say they use AI working the same hours as before, and 4 percent saying they work more. In April, the UK government launched a £23 million trial program for AI and educational technology it hoped would boost results and cut teachers' workloads. Many teachers work more than 50 hours a week, which is higher than contractual limits. But the YouGov survey — funded by education technology exhibition Bett — found reduced working hours do not necessarily follow from increased use of AI. Teachers said they were using AI across a spread of tasks: 76 percent to build lesson plans and worksheets, and around 39 percent to draft letters and emails to parents or write pupil reports. However, only 8 percent said they use AI to mark or grade pupils’ work. AI is not just for teachers, though. Pupils are using it too, and 71 percent of secondary school teachers (pupil-age 11-16 years) said AI had made it easier for children to cheat and get away with it. Fifty-seven percent of secondary teachers suspected at least one pupil of handing in AI-assisted work without permission in the prior four weeks, the report found. The research comes amid broader concerns about the effectiveness of AI across the economy. Despite the layoffs associated with AI in some tech companies, a study from the Atlanta Federal Reserve study found that about 90 percent of executives believe AI is yet to improve productivity in their organizations. ®