Investigating AI competence among Chinese secondary school teachers: Insights from the UNESCO framework

This study adopts a quantitative research design employs the UNESCO Teacher AI Competency Framework to assess and validate the artificial intelligence (AI) competencies of secondary school teachers in China. A questionnaire was developed based on the framework's five dimensions, and administered to 248 teachers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the instrument's reliability and structural validity. Structural equation modeling revealed that AI Foundations and Applications significantly predicted both AI Pedagogy and Ethics of AI; AI Pedagogy, in turn, strongly influenced AI for Professional Development; and Ethics of AI emerged as a key predictor of Human-centred Mindset. These findings highlight the foundational role of technical knowledge in supporting ethical reasoning and pedagogical transformation, as well as the importance of ethical competence in cultivating human-centred educational values. This study offers preliminary, context-specific evidence on the UNESCO Teacher AI Competency Framework among Chinese secondary school teachers and informs teacher training, curriculum design, and policy. Given the convenience, self-selected sample and regional imbalance, findings are exploratory rather than nationally generalizable, motivating future region-balanced validation to support alignment with emerging AI competency requirements in China.The study aims to provide preliminary empirical evidence for the UNESCO framework in the context of Chinese secondary school teachers and offers evidence-based insights for teacher training, curriculum development, and policymaking aimed at advancing AI integration in secondary education, particularly in supporting the alignment of national teacher professional development policies with emerging AI competency requirements in China.