Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence in Primary Mathematics Education

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Primary Education poses a pedagogical dilemma between technological efficiency and the development of logical reasoning. This qualitative study examines the perceptions and lived experiences of 32 pre-service teachers enrolled in the Primary Education Degree at the Faculty of Education and Psychology (University of Extremadura). Through content analysis supported by RLQDA software, participants' narratives regarding the deployment of AI in mathematics education were coded to identify patterns in curricular articulation and professional identity.

The results reveal a dualistic perception of technology. On the one hand, future teachers positively value AI as a tool for inclusion and personalization, highlighting its ability to reduce abstraction in content blocks such as geometry and fractions through dynamic visualizations and immediate feedback. Conversely, a transversal concern emerges regarding "cognitive dependency" and the risk of students substituting intellectual effort with automated results. Furthermore, a gap is observed between the participants' personal use of AI (instrumental and administrative, e.g., using ChatGPT for summarizing or planning) and the didactic use they project for the classroom (gamification and level adaptation). The study concludes that while pre-service teachers do not reject the technology, they demand training that empowers them to lead its ethical use, reaffirming their irreplaceable role as guides against the automation of learning.