AI Literacy in Vocational Education: A Framework for Teacher Professional Development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62177/jetp.v2i4.863Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence Literacy, Vocational College Teachers, Human-Computer Collaboration, Industry-Education IntegrationAbstract
The application of artificial intelligence in education prompts an evolution in the professional competencies required of teachers. Current discussions on teacher AI literacy are predominantly situated within the context of general education, failing to capture the unique characteristics of vocational education, such as industry-education integration and school-enterprise collaboration. Consequently, a specific framework for vocational college teachers is absent, and existing research has not addressed this need. This study, grounded in empowerment theory, constructs an AI literacy framework for vocational college teachers. It elaborates on the competency dimensions related to human-computer collaboration, including the use of AI to understand industry demands, design instructional scenarios, and align curriculum with workplace requirements. The research further analyzes the practical constraints on literacy enhancement from the perspectives of policy environments, institutional support mechanisms, and teacher cognition, proposing corresponding developmental pathways. This study aims to provide a theoretical reference and practical guidance for the professional development of educators in the vocational sector.
Downloads
References
Miao, F., Wayne, H., Huang, R., Zhang, H., & UNESCO. (2021). AI and education: A guidance for policymakers. UNESCO Publishing.
Sperling, K., Stenberg, C.-J., McGrath, C., Åkerfeldt, A., Heintz, F., & Stenliden, L. (2024). In search of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy in teacher education: A scoping review. Computers and Education Open, 6, 100169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2024.100169
Ng, D. T. K., Leung, J. K. L., Chu, S. K. W., & Qiao, M. S. (2021). Conceptualizing AI literacy: An exploratory review. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 2, 100041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2021.100041
Wang, Q., Sun, F., Wang, X., & Gao, Y. (2023). Exploring undergraduate students’ digital multitasking in class: An empirical study in china. Sustainability, 15(13), 10184. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310184
Chan, C. K. Y. (2023). A comprehensive AI policy education framework for university teaching and learning. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00408-3
Zhao, L., Wu, X., & Luo, H. (2022). Developing AI literacy for primary and middle school teachers in china: Based on a structural equation modeling analysis. Sustainability, 14(21), 14549. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114549
Hu, L., Wang, H., & Xin, Y. (2025). Factors influencing Chinese pre-service teachers’ adoption of generative AI in teaching: An empirical study based on UTAUT2 and PLS-SEM. Education and Information Technologies, 30(9), 12609–12631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-025-13353-7
Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2005). What happens when teachers design educational technology? The development of technological pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 32(2), 131–152. https://doi.org/10.2190/0ew7-01wb-bkhl-qdyv
Chiu, T. K. F. (2021). A holistic approach to the design of artificial intelligence (AI) education for K-12 schools. TechTrends, 65(5), 796–807. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-021-00637-1
Long, D., & Magerko, B. (2020). What is AI Literacy? Competencies and Design Considerations. Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376727
UNESCO. (2022). K-12 AI curricula: A mapping of government-endorsed AI curricula. https://doi.org/10.54675/elyf6010
Touretzky, D., Gardner-McCune, C., Martin, F., & Seehorn, D. (2019). Envisioning AI for K-12: What should every child know about AI? Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 33(01), 9795–9799. https://doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v33i01.33019795
Lindner, A., & Berges, M. (2020). Can you explain AI to me? Teachers’ pre-concepts about Artificial Intelligence. 2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). https://doi.org/10.1109/fie44824.2020.9274136
Tedre, M., Toivonen, T., Kahila, J., Vartiainen, H., Valtonen, T., Jormanainen, I., & Pears, A. (2021). Teaching machine learning in K–12 classroom: Pedagogical and technological trajectories for artificial intelligence education. IEEE Access, 9, 110558–110572. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2021.3097962
Crompton, H., Jones, M. V., & Burke, D. (2022). Affordances and challenges of artificial intelligence in K-12 education: A systematic review. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 56(3), 248–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2022.2121344
Akgun, S., & Greenhow, C. (2021). Artificial intelligence in education: Addressing ethical challenges in K-12 settings. AI and Ethics, 2(3), 431–440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-021-00096-7
Sanusi, I. T., Oyelere, S. S., Vartiainen, H., Suhonen, J., & Tukiainen, M. (2022). A systematic review of teaching and learning machine learning in K-12 education. Education and Information Technologies, 28(5), 5967–5997. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11416-7
Liu, C., Brewer, G., Liu, P., Liu, Y., & Zhang, W. (2025). Measuring teacher digital literacy in china: Development and preliminary validation of a multidimensional scale. Education and Information Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-025-13768-2
Zhang, K., & Aslan, A. B. (2021). AI technologies for education: Recent research & future directions. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 2, 100025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2021.100025
Archambault, L. M., & Barnett, J. H. (2010). Revisiting technological pedagogical content knowledge: Exploring the TPACK framework. Computers & Education, 55(4), 1656–1662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.07.009
Liu, Y., Saleh, S., & Huang, J. (2021). Artificial intelligence in promoting teaching and learning transformation in schools. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 15(3), 891–902. https://doi.org/10.53333/ijicc2013/15369
Selwyn, N. (2022). Education and technology. Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350145573
Chen, Z. (2022). Artificial intelligence-virtual trainer: Innovative didactics aimed at personalized training needs. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 14(2), 2007–2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-022-00985-0
Pan, Z., & Wang, Y. (2025). From technology‐challenged teachers to empowered digitalized citizens: Exploring the profiles and antecedents of teacher AI literacy in the chinese EFL context. European Journal of Education, 60(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70020
Humble, N., & Mozelius, P. (2022). The threat, hype, and promise of artificial intelligence in education. Discover Artificial Intelligence, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44163-022-00039-z
Grossman, P., Hammerness, K., & McDonald, M. (2009). Redefining teaching, re‐imagining teacher education. Teachers and Teaching, 15(2), 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540600902875340
Downloads
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Yuchu Shi, Mingming Gu, Mingming Li

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
DATE
Accepted: 2025-11-11
Published: 2025-11-17











