ChatGPT and Critical Pedagogy in American Education Systems: Should There Be a Reason to Get Worried?

It is astounding to imagine that the concept of ChatGPT is less than half a decade old. Yet, it is steadily becoming a household name in almost all organizations, corporations, and schools. ChatGPT is undoubtedly transforming educational systems with its ability to streamline educators’ workloads, accelerate the engagement of students, and reimagine the teaching-learning process which could potentially result in improved academic outcomes as its adoption becomes widespread. This study sought to test a null hypothesis of no significant relationship between the use of ChatGPT and educators' deployment of critical pedagogy. With a sample size of 74 educators selected both purposively and through convenience strategy, the study used the Pearson linear correlation coefficient to analyze data. With the level of significance set at 0.05, the study found r=0.031, and sig.= 0.114, hence the rejection of the null hypothesis and the acceptance of its alternate, leading to the conclusion that ChatGPT impacts the deployment of critical pedagogy positively. Even as debates rage on its adoption and usage in educational settings, some educational institutions and even regulatory agencies are yet to fully appreciate the extent to which ChatGPT could impact critical pedagogy. This paper recommends that educational institutions should put policies and procedures in place to ensure ethical and purposeful usage of ChatGPT in educational settings.