Preparing teachers for the age of artificial intelligence: understanding the challenges and needs of AI-TPACK in Indonesian elementary education

Background The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education necessitates a new set of teacher competencies that extend beyond traditional technological proficiency. The AI-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (AI-TPACK) framework, which incorporates AI-specific technological knowledge, pedagogical strategies, and ethical considerations, provides a comprehensive model for evaluating teacher readiness. This study adapts and applies the AI-TPACK framework to assess the preparedness of Indonesian elementary school teachers for integrating AI into their pedagogical practices. Methods A mixed-methods research design was employed, involving a nationwide survey of 468 elementary school teachers and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a subset of 22 teachers. The study aimed to comprehensively evaluate teachers' perceived competencies, identify significant challenges, and determine their professional development needs concerning AI integration. Results Quantitative analysis revealed that while teachers reported high self-efficacy in traditional domains such as Pedagogical Knowledge (PK; M = 4.12) and Content Knowledge (CK; M = 4.05), there were significant deficiencies in AI-specific competencies. Notably, scores for AI-Technological Knowledge (AI-TK; M = 2.58) and AI-Ethical Knowledge (AI-EK; M = 2.65) were Qualitative findings corroborated these results, highlighting a fundamental gap in AI literacy, a disconnect between awareness of AI tools and their practical pedagogical application, and significant ethical concerns regarding student data privacy and academic integrity marked. Conclusion The findings indicate a substantial gap in the AI-related knowledge and skills of Indonesian elementary school teachers, which poses a significant barrier to the effective integration of AI in the classroom. This study underscores the urgent need for a national strategy focused on developing targeted and continuous professional development programs. Such initiatives must be designed to build a robust AI-TPACK framework among teachers, with a dual emphasis on enhancing both pedagogical application and ethical competence to empower them to navigate the complexities of the AI era successfully.