Can indigenous pedagogies improve students' interest in elementary artificial intelligence?

Purpose This study examines the application of the Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach (CTCA) in AI education. It aims to address whether the CTCA can increase students' interest in AI, regardless of gender and contribute to the literature on AI education, policy development, instructional design and educational inequalities. The CTCA is a teaching method that integrates indigenous knowledge, context and technology to improve learning outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a quasi-experimental design. One hundred and five participants at the Ghanaian basic education level (38 in the experimental group and 67 in the control group) were selected using purposive and random sampling techniques. Data was collected using the Students' Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and analysed using ANCOVA. Findings The findings indicated a statistically significant increase in student interest in artificial intelligence education, favouring the CTCA and GenAI combination over the lecture metho