AI Applications in Psychological and Educational Assessment During Emergencies: A Qualitative Study from Palestinian Specialists' Perspectives

Abstract

Background:   Despite growing global interest in AI applications for psychological and educational assessment, practitioners in protracted conflict settings remain underrepresented in the scholarly literature. Palestinian specialists operate under chronic emergency conditions that simultaneously intensify demand for scalable assessment tools and complicate their deployment.

  Objectives:   To explore Palestinian psychological and educational specialists' perspectives on AI use in assessment during emergencies, examine associated professional and ethical considerations, identify contextual challenges, and derive recommendations for sustainable integration.

  Methods:   This study employed a qualitative grounded theory design. Thirteen Palestinian specialists practicing in the West Bank were recruited through purposive sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews conducted between March and June 2025, and subsequently analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding.

  Results:   Six emergent categories were identified, converging around a central core category labeled Conditional Readiness. The majority of participants reported no prior use of AI in assessment, attributing this absence not to principled objections but to structural barriers. Despite limited direct experience, all participants acknowledged the potential utility of AI in emergency contexts, while unanimously emphasizing the inviolability of the human therapeutic relationship. The primary constraints highlighted included the lack of professional training, the cultural and linguistic unsuitability of existing tools, regulatory vacuums, and politically situated data security concerns uniquely shaped by the occupation context.

  Conclusions:   Palestinian specialists demonstrate a positive but conditions-dependent orientation toward AI adoption, constrained by intersecting technological, cultural, and political deficits. Sustainable integration requires culturally validated Arabic tools, specialist training, and professional ethics frameworks responsive to the Palestinian context. Findings offer a context-sensitive contribution to AI adoption theory applicable to humanitarian and conflict-affected settings.