Development of a Four-Factor Structure Framework for Artificial Intelligence Literacy (AIL) of Pre-service Teachers in the Philippines

Abstract

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the educational landscape, pre-service teachers need strong AI competencies to navigate the AI-driven job market. This study aimed to develop and validate a 24-item instrument based on a four-factor structure of the AI Teaching and Learning Framework: Understanding, Use and Application, Evaluation, and Ethics. Guided by a three-stage scale development model, the instrument underwent expert reviews, pilot testing, and exploratory factor analysis using a cross-sectional survey of 310 pre-service teachers at a state university. Results confirmed the four-dimensional structure, which demonstrated excellent reliability, high sampling adequacy, and significant construct validity. This study offers a validated tool specifically tailored for pre-service teachers in the Philippine context, with a distinctive integration of an ethics dimension alongside understanding, application, and evaluation. It also embeds the ethics dimension for pre-service teachers to exercise ethical judgment and responsible AI use. This validated scale provides a practical and reliable instrument for curriculum design, teacher training programs, and policy development in the AI chatbot era. To strengthen generalizability and theoretical rigor, future research should pursue cross-institutional and cross-cultural validation with confirmatory factor analysis.