An investigation of preservice teachers' artificial intelligence literacy levels and 21st century teacher skills with the relationship between the variables

The transformative role of technology in education gains a new dimension with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and supports innovative pedagogical approaches. In this context, AI literacy and 21st century teacher skills gain importance. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between pre-service teachers' AI literacy levels and 21st century teacher skills. Relational survey model, one of the quantitative research designs, was used in the study. The sample consists of pre-service teachers studying in various departments of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Faculty of Education. Data were collected with participant information form, AI literacy scale and 21st century teacher skills scale. Nonparametric methods such as Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis H and Spearman correlation tests were used in the analysis. The results showed that pre-service teachers generally scored above average in AI literacy and 21st century teacher skills. In particular, relatively low scores on some scale items indicate the need for improvement in certain areas. In terms of gender, female pre-service teachers scored higher in the ethical sub-dimension of AI literacy and in the managerial, affirmative and generative sub-dimensions of 21st century teacher skills than male pre-service teachers. The fact that there was no significant increase in AI literacy and 21st century teacher skills according to grade level suggests that the curricula do not sufficiently support grade level-dependent development in these areas. Correlation analyses showed that there were significant positive relationships between AI literacy skills sub-factors and 21st century teacher skills sub-factors. These findings suggest that teacher education programs should be restructured to strengthen AI literacy and 21st century skills. According to the results of the research, teacher education programs should be reorganized with flexible and up-to-date contents that support continuous learning by focusing on areas open to development as well as general competencies. Directing pre-service teachers to continuous professional development opportunities so that they can recognize and use developing AI technologies will facilitate their adaptation to future teaching environments.KEYWORDS: 21st Century Teacher Skills, Artificial Intelligence Literacy, Preservice Teachers