Generative Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Storytelling in Early Childhood Education: A One-Group Pre-Test/Post-Test Study of KidsStoryAI in Salah Al-Din, Iraq

Maryam Taha Younis; Majid Hamid Ali

doi:10.71229/qjgf0k35

Authors

Maryam Taha Younis Department of Computer Science, College of Computer Science and Mathematics, Tikrit University
Majid Hamid Ali Department of Computer Science, College of Computer Science and Mathematics, Tikrit University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71229/qjgf0k35

Keywords:

Adaptive Learning, Affective Computing, Cognitive Assessment, Emotional Adaptation, Learning Analytics

Abstract

While generative AI can tailor the content of stories to the needs of young children, and adapt their emotional support to individual needs, few current systems integrate cognitive personalization, emotional adaptation, and integrated assessment into a single early childhood platform, especially in resource-limited environments. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the interactive storytelling application, KidsStoryAI, which uses artificial intelligence, on 100 children aged 5-7 years in Salah Al-Din Governorate, Iraq, in a one-group pre-test/post-test design. The same children were evaluated in a traditional storytelling condition (pre-test) and in the KidsStoryAI condition (post-test), both of which were conducted over five sessions. Children's cognitive performance, emotional adaptation (Final Emotional Adaptation Score (FEAS)), progress from session to session, and questionnaire responses from children and parents were analyzed. The overall response accuracy for children improved from 42.62% to 57.13% and the Composite Cognitive Performance Score improved from 60.53% to 74.83% (p < .001 for all seven performance variables, with large effect sizes). Mean FEAS increased from 58.47 to 71.39 (p < .001, dz = 3.56). 99% of children said they enjoyed the application and all said they would like to use it again, while parents had consistently positive perceptions regarding ease of use, engagement, educational value and safety. The findings showed that KidsStoryAI was linked to better cognitive and emotional outcomes compared to traditional storytelling, suggesting the potential of AI-driven personalized storytelling in early childhood education in resource-limited environments.

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