International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 12, Issue 12 (December 2025), Pages: 51-61

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 Original Research Paper

Cultivating innovative behavior through AI awareness: A human resource perspective on early childhood education in Guangdong Province, China

 Author(s): 

 Xuan Tang 1, 2, Yan Liu 3, *

 Affiliation(s):

  1School of Management, Guangzhou Huashang College, Guangzhou, China
  2Academic Support Department, Colorado Social Science Research Academy, Denver, USA
  3School of Business Administration, Guangzhou Institute of Science and Technology, Guangzhou, China

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5991-7444

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.12.006

 Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) awareness on innovative practices among early childhood educators in Guangdong, China. Data were collected through online questionnaires from 466 educators across 225 institutions. The study investigates how AI awareness influences intrinsic motivation, creative self-efficacy, learning climate, and innovative behavior. Using SmartPLS-4 and SPSSPRO for analysis, the results indicate that AI awareness significantly affects innovative behavior, with intrinsic motivation (β = 0.505), creative self-efficacy (β = 0.446), and learning climate (β = 0.310) acting as mediating variables. These findings highlight the critical role of AI awareness in promoting innovation among educators and offer practical implications for human resource management in educational institutions. From this perspective, professional development programs that enhance AI literacy can improve teacher motivation, creative self-efficacy, performance, and retention. Future research should also address ethical challenges associated with AI integration in educational contexts.

 © 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 AI awareness, Innovative behavior, Intrinsic motivation, Creative self-efficacy, Learning climate

 Article history

 Received 8 July 2025, Received in revised form 2 November 2025, Accepted 13 November 2025

 Acknowledgment

This study was supported by the Specialized Talent Training Program of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province [Grant Number: Yuejiao Gaohan (2024) No. 30-415], administered through the School of Business Administration at Guangzhou Institute of Science and Technology. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

All participants provided informed consent, and data were collected anonymously with appropriate ethical safeguards in place.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Tang X and Liu Y (2025). Cultivating innovative behavior through AI awareness: A human resource perspective on early childhood education in Guangdong Province, China. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(12): 51-61

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 Figures

  Fig. 1  Fig. 2

 Tables

  Table 1  Table 2  Table 3  Table 4  Table 5  Table 6  Table 7  Table 8 

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