Perceived Influence Of Generative AI on Professional Writing Competence Among Office Technology And Management Students In Selected Public Tertiary Institutions In Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated perceived influence of generative AI on professional writing competence among Office Technology and Management students in selected public tertiary institutions in South East Nigeria. The study was grounded in Cognitive Load Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model, while three research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. A mixed-method descriptive survey design was adopted, combining quantitative questionnaire data with qualitative focus group discussions to triangulate lecturers' perceptions with students' experiences. The population comprised 150 OTM lecturers and 320 OTM students drawn from the 400 level of eight public tertiary institutions in South-East Nigeria, including three universities, two polytechnics, and three colleges of education. The entire lecturer population was studied due to its manageable size, while all 320 OTM students were purposively sampled as they represent the cohort that has completed the professional writing sequence and were nearing graduation. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire for lecturers and a focus group discussion guide for students. Both instruments were validated by experts in Business Education (Office Technology Management) and Educational Foundations at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. A pilot study involving 20 lecturers and 20 final-year OTM students from Delta State institutions yielded Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficients of 0.88 and 0.86 for the questionnaire clusters, with an overall reliability of 0.87, indicating high internal consistency. Focus group data were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed using NVivo 12. Quantitative data were analysed using mean and standard deviation with a criterion mean of 2.50, and one-way ANOVA with Tukey's HSD post hoc test tested the hypotheses at 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that lecturers perceived generative AI as having both positive and negative influences on students' professional writing competence, though lecturers disagreed that AI encourages frequent writing practice, teaches proper citation formats, or helps maintain consistent tone, and perceived low influence regarding AI-generated factual errors and students struggling to adapt writing to workplace contexts without AI. Students' focus group responses largely supported these perceptions but revealed more nuanced usage patterns, including intentional efforts to avoid over-reliance on AI and awareness of workplace expectations regarding independent writing. Significant differences in perceptions were found among university, polytechnic, and college of education lecturers, and it was recommended that AI literacy be integrated into the professional writing curriculum to promote ethical, balanced, and effective use of generative AI tools among students.