Self-reported learning-oriented GenAI use under perceived teacher-referenced normative tension in Chinese higher...

The educational implications of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) depend not only on whether students use these tools, but also on how they orient their use when acceptable-use expectations remain unsettled. This study examined whether perceived teacher-referenced GenAI normative tension (PNT) was associated with self-reported learning-oriented GenAI use (LOU) and whether LOU remained distinguishable from related academic experiences and learning tendencies in Chinese higher education.

Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 1,004 students at three public universities. Covariance-based structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the proposed five-factor measurement representation and a theory-constrained six-path associational model. Internal split-sample measurement analyses, alternative measurement models, covariate-adjusted models, an ordinal-estimator sensitivity analysis, institution sensitivity analyses, a reverse focal specification, and exploratory structural extensions were also conducted.

The proposed five-factor measurement representation showed close fit and was reproduced in a held-out subsample. The focal PNT-LOU association was positive and statistically significant, while the remaining structural paths positioned LOU within a broader network of related academic experiences and learning tendencies. PNT was positively associated with self-reported LOU (β = 0.568, p < 0.001), and the model explained 32.2% of the variance in LOU. The focal association remained positive after adjustment for GenAI guidance clarity (β = 0.478, p < 0.001), demographic and institutional covariates (β = 0.570, p < 0.001), and use of an ordinal estimator. An observationally equivalent reverse specification produced the same global fit, indicating that temporal direction could not be identified. Exploratory extensions further indicated that the six-path specification did not exhaust the observed covariance structure, particularly for ACS.

Perceived difficulty locating one's GenAI practices relative to teacher-referenced expectations and self-reported learning-oriented GenAI use can coexist rather than functioning as opposite ends of a single continuum. However, the cross-sectional, same-source design does not establish that normative tension improves learning-oriented behaviour. Reverse direction, shared unmeasured characteristics, common-method inflation, social desirability, and legitimacy-oriented self-presentation remain plausible explanations.