Exploring Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education through Lightweight Natural Language Processing: A Proof-of-Concept Methodological Study

Antonio Matas Terrón; José Manuel Ríos Ariza; Antonio Luque de la Rosa; José Jesús Sánchez Amate

doi:10.46661/ijeri.12995

Authors

Antonio Matas Terron Universidad de Málaga https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1401-4932
Jose Manuel Ríos Ariza Universidad de Málaga https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1879-8677
Antonio Luque de la Rosa Universidad de Almería https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7981-029X
José Jesús Sánchez Amate Universidad de Almería https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0124-4579

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46661/ijeri.12995

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIEd), Open-ended survey responses, Light Natural Language Processing (Light NLP), Semantic analysis, Exploratory methodological study

Abstract

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has prompted a wide array of perspectives among educational stakeholders, frequently captured through open-ended survey responses. However, approaches to analysing such data under non-ideal conditions remain limited. This study examines the feasibility of combining open-ended responses with "Light Natural Language Processing" techniques to explore the discourse on AI in higher education. Employing an exploratory proof-of-concept design, the research utilised two independent datasets comprising 31 Pedagogy students from Spain and 35 teachers from Peru, all of whom responded to open-ended questions regarding Artificial Intelligence. Semantic representations based on embeddings—derived from term weighting and truncated Singular Value Decomposition (SVD)—were employed alongside semantic anchors and exploratory visualisation to analyse heterogeneous texts. The results demonstrate that light semantic workflows can generate interpretable representations, support proximity-based inspection, and enable anchor-guided exploration, even with small sample sizes. Specifically, the analysed data reveal that while student discourse is oriented towards pragmatic utility and self-regulated learning, the teacher narrative is dominated by ethics and regulatory anxiety. The paper concludes by reflecting on the potential of this approach as a scalable tool for monitoring the educational climate in real time.

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Author Biographies

Antonio Matas Terron, Universidad de Málaga

Antonio Matas Terrón is a tenured professor in the Research Methods Department at the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of Málaga, where he has been teaching and conducting research since 2004. With a PhD in Pedagogy and a degree in Psychology, his career has focused on educational measurement and evaluation, with particular attention to teaching competencies, academic performance, and the evaluation of educational programs and policies. He has participated in various international cooperation programs with the Americas and in several European Erasmus+ and Knowledge Alliance projects, and has around eighty publications, including five books and numerous articles in specialized scientific journals. In recent years, his research has focused on the analysis and improvement of program and policy evaluation processes from the Contribution Analysis perspective, as a member of the IDEI research group at the University of Málaga. He also shares methodological reflections and insights on educational evaluation on his personal blog, amatasweb.netlify.app

Jose Manuel Ríos Ariza, Universidad de Málaga

José Manuel Ríos Ariza is a professor of Innovation and ICT applied to education at the University of Málaga, where he carries out his teaching and research in the field of educational technology and pedagogical innovation. He holds a PhD in Pedagogy and a PhD in Educational Technology from the University of Málaga (with Extraordinary Doctoral Award), as well as a Master's degree in New Technologies Applied to Education and a University Expert qualification in Virtual Learning Environments. His career has focused on curriculum innovation and revision in various degree programs and on the integration of ICT into teaching and learning processes. He has over forty publications, has coordinated several books, and has participated in international projects related to the educational use of digital technologies. He is the editor of the journal Innoeduca. International Journal of Technology and Educational Innovation and an evaluator for the National Agency for Evaluation and Foresight (ANEP), as well as a member of scientific committees and a reviewer for several journals specializing in educational technology.

Antonio Luque de la Rosa, Universidad de Almería

Antonio Luque de la Rosa is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Almería, where he carries out his teaching and research in the fields of inclusive education, educational guidance, and school organization. He holds a PhD in Educational Innovation from the University of Almería, and his dissertation focused on the itinerant intervention model for teachers of hearing and language, providing key insights for improving support for students with specific educational needs. His research interests lie in technologies applied to education, teaching competencies, school climate, and inclusion and equity processes, areas in which he has a substantial body of scholarly work, including book chapters and indexed articles. He has participated as a researcher in several competitive projects on school transitions, immigrant students, and non-traditional learning environments, as well as in initiatives for innovative teaching in higher education. He also collaborates with national and international research networks and groups, and carries out academic coordination tasks related to mobility programs and teacher training at the University of Almería.

José Jesús Sánchez Amate, Universidad de Almería

José Jesús Sánchez Amate is a professor at the University of Almería, where he carries out his teaching and research in the field of inclusive education, attention to diversity, and pedagogical innovation linked to information and communication technologies. His work focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on teaching and learning processes, educational strategies for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the use of digital resources such as gamification, infographics, and augmented reality to promote educational inclusion. He is the author and co-author of book chapters and scientific publications on teaching innovation, teachers' digital skills, and attention to special educational needs, and has contributed to collective works on educational technology, quality and pedagogical innovation, and teacher training. Her research activity is structured around improving the educational response to diversity through active methodologies and the critical use of ICT, contributing to the reflection and transformation of teaching practices at different levels of the education system.

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