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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.

Sec. STEM Education

Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1567698

This article is part of the Research Topic Rural STEMM Education Research: Bridging between Uniqueness and Universality View all 5 articles

Empowering Educational Leaders for AI Integration in Rural STEM Education: Challenges and Strategies

Provisionally accepted
Juhee Kim Juhee Kim *Elizabeth Wargo Elizabeth Wargo
  • University of Idaho, Moscow, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study explored the role of educational leaders in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into rural K-12 STEM education. The research focused on the perceptions, strategies, and barriers that educational leaders face in navigating AI integration, particularly in the unique context of rural schools. Drawing on survey and focus group data from rural school leaders, this study examined how rural educational administrators perceive AI's potential and the challenges associated with its adoption. It provided insights into leadership strategies for addressing infrastructural limitations, fostering professional development, and ensuring equitable AI adoption. Ultimately, this research aimed to empower rural educational leaders to harness AI technologies to enhance STEM education.

    Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration, Rural STEM Education, Educational Leadership, Professional Development, Technology challenges

    Received: 27 Jan 2025; Accepted: 04 Apr 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Kim and Wargo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Juhee Kim, University of Idaho, Moscow, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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