From Adaptation to Flourishing: The Importance of Designing STEM-Based University Program in the Context the Artificial Intelligence Revolution from an Educators' Perspective

This study aimed to explore the attitudes of Jordanian teachers towards the importance of establishing university programs that adopt the STEM approach, integrated with artificial intelligence applications, to enhance the role of universities, making them future-oriented and meeting the needs of society and the labor market with the appropriate competencies for building a prosperous future. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach. It reviewed relevant literature and developed a questionnaire consisting of 29 items, after validation and reliability testing, using a six-point Likert scale. A link to the questionnaire was generated using Google's questionnaire distribution tool. The questionnaire was then distributed to all teachers in Jordan using a snowballing technique via various social media platforms. The study sample comprised 160 teachers distributed across several variables (specialization, experience, academic degree, teaching grade, school location, and participation in specialized STEM training programs). The results indicated an overall mean score of 5.081 and a high level of agreement (H), demonstrating a strong and positive reception to the design of STEM programs in schools and universities. When the five dimension are ranked in descending order according to their arithmetic means, it becomes clear that "Dimension Two: Academic Environment and Curricula" came in first (5.1125), followed closely by "Dimension One: Enhancing Students' Skills" (5.1112), then "Dimension Four: Meeting the Needs of Society and the Labor Market" (5.0837), and "Dimension Three: Professional Development of Teachers" came in fourth (5.0651), while "Dimension Five: Expected Challenges" came in last with an average of (5.0343). Furthermore, the results of the one-way ANOVA showed statistically significant differences at the significance level of (0.05) for the variables of teachers' specialization, favoring humanities specializations over science specializations, and for the variable of attending specialized workshops according to the STEM approach. The results confirm that the experience gained from attending these workshops made a real difference in teachers' responses. In contrast, the statistical data revealed no significant differences for the remaining study variables such as years of experience, academic qualification, grades taught, and finally, the school location variable, which means that these factors were not influential in creating a real difference between the responses of the teachers in the study sample. The study concluded by recommending serious consideration of developing university programs that integrate STEM and artificial intelligence, considering this a roadmap for universities to flourish and remain abreast of modern developments and the rapidly changing demands of the future. The STEM approach is not merely an enrichment option, but rather the fundamental pillar upon which university programs should be built to bridge the gap in academic preparation, which will equip teachers and set them directly on the path to professional success.