Teachers' Readiness for DepEd AI Integration in Philippine Basic Education: A Descriptive–Correlational Study

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has become a global priority, with increasing emphasis on its ethical, responsible, and pedagogically sound implementation. In the Philippines, the Department of Education (DepEd) has introduced foundational guidelines on AI integration in basic education to support digital transformation and enhance teacher capacity. Despite these initiatives, there remains limited empirical evidence on teachers’ readiness to implement national AI policies in classroom practice. This study examined teachers’ readiness to implement DepEd AI integration guidelines and explored its relationship with selected demographic variables. A descriptive–correlational research design was employed, involving 47 public basic education teachers selected through purposive sampling. Data were gathered using a structured survey questionnaire measuring four dimensions of readiness: AI knowledge, digital skills, training and professional development, and attitudes toward AI. Descriptive statistics and Pearson ’scorrelation analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that teachers demonstrated an overall “ready” level of preparedness (M = 3.26, SD = 0.63). Among the dimensions, attitudes toward AI obtained the highest mean, indicating positive perceptions of AI integration, while AI knowledge recorded the lowest mean, highlighting an area for improvement. Furthermore, no significant relationships were found between teachers’ readiness and demographic variables (p > .05). These results suggest that readiness is not demographically determined but may be influenced by technological exposure and institutional support. The study underscores the need for sustained professional development, enhanced AI literacy programs, and improved technological infrastructure to ensure effective and ethical AI integration in Philippine basic education.