Designing a Framework for Ethical Artificial Intelligence Use in Nigerian Higher Education: A Delphi and Grounded Theory Study

This study designs an original ethical framework for artificial intelligence use in Nigerian higher education, employing a sequential mixed-methods design combining Delphi technique and grounded theory. As AI tools permeate Nigerian universities through student academic writing, assessment, administration, and research, institutional vacuum of ethical guidance creates significant risks of misuse, inequity, and erosion of academic integrity. Phase one involved a three-round Delphi study with 40 AI, ethics, and educational technology experts from Nigerian universities across all geopolitical zones, establishing consensus on essential ethical principles for AI in higher education. Phase two employed constructivist grounded theory interviews with 50 lecturers, students, and institutional leaders across six universities to generate substantive theory about how ethical concerns around AI are experienced and negotiated in practice. Theoretical integration of Delphi consensus findings and grounded theory resulted in the Nigerian Higher Education AI Ethics Framework, comprising six principles: transparency and explainability, equity of access, academic integrity preservation, data sovereignty, cultural sensitivity, and human oversight primacy. The framework is distinguished from existing Western AI ethics frameworks by its explicit attention to African data governance concerns, linguistic diversity, and the socioeconomic stratification effects of AI access inequality. The study constitutes an original normative and empirical contribution to AI ethics scholarship in African higher education. Keywords: artificial intelligence ethics, higher education, Delphi study, grounded theory, Nigeria