Student preparedness for artificial intelligence-driven volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) environments

Scale development and validation

Authors

  • Sourav Choudhury GlobalNxt University, Malaysia
  • Nimisha Beri NCERT, India
  • Vijay Kumar Chechi Lovely Professional University, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7598-904X
  • Firdous Ahmad Sofal Central University of Kashmir, India
  • Anukampa Devi Cotton University, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/x5x19c07

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, Higher education, Scale validation, , VUCA, 21st Century

Abstract

Technology has permeated the workplace, which demands new skills from the labor force. This is characterized by constant transformations and is known as the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) world, with artificial intelligence (AI) being a key driver. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive scale to measure students’ preparedness to face AI-driven VUCA by integrating AI across the three dimensions of the 21st-century skill set as an attempt to fill the gap in the availability of such a tool. A quantitative research design was employed, with 626 students pursuing higher education sampled using a convenience sampling technique. The initial item pool consisted of 29 items drawn from an array of research articles. The content validity index, purification, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were carried out on three dimensions. The validated final scale has 25 items, with a high reliability score of 0.882.

Author Biographies

  • Sourav Choudhury, GlobalNxt University, Malaysia

    Dr. Sourav Choudhury, PhD, is a faculty member at the School of Education at GlobalNxt University, Malaysia, and holds a PhD in Education from Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India. His research interests include teacher education, educational technology, educational statistics, parental and child development, social justice, disadvantaged groups, and scale development. Email: souravchdhry@yahoo.com.

  • Nimisha Beri, NCERT, India

    Dr. Nimisha Beri, PhD, is a distinguished academician at the Institute of National Repute, National Institute of Education, NCERT, New Delhi, with more than 25 years of teaching and research experience. A gold medalist in M.Ed. and UGC-NET, her expertise spans positive psychology, organizational behavior, and psychometrics. She has guided numerous PhD scholars, published extensively in Scopus- and UGC-Care-indexed journals, and authored several academic books. She is a recipient of multiple national and international awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. Her academic leadership, curriculum innovation, and commitment to teacher education have made significant contributions to the advancement of higher education in India. E-mail: berinimi@gmail.com

  • Vijay Kumar Chechi, Lovely Professional University, India

    Dr. Vijay Kumar Chechi, PhD, presently serves as Professor and Deputy Dean School of Education, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, and has 21 years of experience in the field of teacher education. His research interests focus on areas such as emotional intelligence, self-regulated learning strategies, socially disadvantaged groups, bullying, teacher self-efficacy, effectiveness, academic monitoring, and motivation. He has guided more than 70 dissertations and 10 doctoral theses. He has published 120 research papers in journals and books and has edited 3 books. E-mail: vijay.chechi@lpu.co.in

  • Anukampa Devi , Cotton University, India

    Anukampa Devi is a Research Scholar, pursuing a Ph.D. from the Department of Education, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam, India. She has completed her Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) and Master of Education (M.Ed.) as rank holder from Dibrugarh University, Assam as well as qualified UGC-NET JRF (AIR-4) and SLET/SET (NE-region). Her research interests focus on Educational Technology, Pedagogy of Teaching, Teacher Education, Inclusive Education, and Educational Psychology. Email id: anukampa.devi1@gmail.com

Downloads

Published

2026-04-14

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 13 (2026): Journal of International Students

Section

Research Articles (English, regular edition)

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) [year] [author]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

How to Cite

Choudhury, S. ., Beri, N., Chechi, V. K. ., Sofal, F. A. ., & Devi , A. . (2026). Student preparedness for artificial intelligence-driven volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) environments: Scale development and validation. Journal of International Students, 16(13), 219-240. https://doi.org/10.32674/x5x19c07