AI LITERACY AND TEACHER READINESS: EMERGING COMPETENCIES, PEDAGOGICAL ADAPTATION AND PROFESSIONAL TRANSFORMATION FOR 21ST-CENTURY EDUCATORS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming education by providing tools that enhance teaching, learning, assessment, and administrative processes. However, in many developing contexts, teachers lack the necessary AI literacy and readiness to effectively integrate AI into classroom practice. This study examined the level of AI literacy and readiness among teachers in public secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria, and explored how emerging AI-related competencies influence pedagogical adaptation and instructional practices. It also investigated the institutional, infrastructural, and professional development factors affecting teachers’ AI literacy and readiness. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and involved 372 teachers selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that teachers generally demonstrated low AI literacy and readiness, with a grand mean of 3.25, indicating limited ability to use AI tools for lesson planning, assessment, and interpretation of AI-generated data. Emerging AI-related competencies were found to have a weak influence on pedagogical adaptation and instructional practices (grand mean = 3.25), suggesting that teachers were yet to integrate AI meaningfully into classroom instruction. Institutional, infrastructural, and professional development factors significantly affected teachers’ AI literacy and readiness, with inadequate ICT infrastructure, limited training, and poor access to AI resources identified as major barriers (grand mean = 3.49). Correlation analysis further showed strong positive relationships between AI literacy and readiness (r = 0.68), and between AI competencies and pedagogical adaptation (r = 0.61). Regression results indicated that institutional support, ICT infrastructure, and professional development jointly explained 55% of the variance in teachers’ AI readiness (R² = 0.55). The study concludes that enhancing AI literacy and readiness among teachers requires comprehensive institutional support, improved infrastructure, and targeted professional development. The findings have implications for policy formulation, teacher training, and strategic planning to promote effective AI integration in public secondary schools in Cross River State.