Cautious Acceptance and Shared Responsibility: Latvian Parents’ Perspectives on Generative AI in Education

The rapid diffusion of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has intensified debates about its educational value, implications
for assessment, and ethical acceptability. However, parents’ perspectives remain comparatively underexplored, particularly in
smaller European education systems. This qualitative study examines Latvian parents’ views on GenAI use in school education,
focusing on perceived benefits, risks, ethical concerns, and expectations of schools. Data were collected through two online focus
group interviews with ten parents of school-aged children and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were
identified: (1) cautious optimism about GenAI as a source of learning support and personalised explanation; (2) concerns about
overreliance, academic integrity, and reduced cognitive effort; (3) the need for transparency, privacy protection, and ethical
guidance; and (4) expectations that schools establish clear, pedagogically grounded rules while communicating proactively with
families. Overall, parents viewed GenAI as increasingly unavoidable in children’s education, but not as a matter of individual
choice alone. They emphasised age-appropriate use, teacher mediation, institutional accountability, and shared responsibility
among schools, teachers, families, and policymakers. The study contributes Latvia-specific evidence to emerging research on
stakeholder perspectives and offers practical implications for school-level policy, parent communication, and teacher professional
learning in GenAI-rich educational environments.