Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teacher Professionalism: Rethinking Teacher Education
Imikan Nseobong Nkopuruk
*
Department of Arts Education, University of Abuja, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The rapid introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into education is changing the image of teacher professionalism and reshaping the models used to consider teacher education. This paper uses a systematic literature review and thematic analysis of 68 peer-reviewed articles, policy documents, and international reports published between 2019 and 2025 to discuss how AI-based innovations are transforming the roles, competencies, and professional identities of teachers. The synthesis highlights four key dimensions of change: the transition to facilitative and orchestration roles; the advent of AI literacy and ethical reasoning demands; the strains on professional autonomy in algorithm-based settings; and the necessity of curriculum change in teacher education programmes. Although AI-based applications such as intelligent tutoring systems, learning analytics, and automated assessment improve individualization and efficiency within an administration, they also pose threats of deskilling, professional displacement anxiety, and increased digital disparities. The findings contend that existing teacher education systems remain poorly aligned with these changing needs. This study concludes that they need to be restructured meaningfully, in which terms AI literacy, data competence, and ethical reasoning are introduced into core curricula, and the TPACK framework is extended to include AI-specific knowledge domains and lifelong, practice-based professional Development models that are founded on the principles of fairness, accountability, transparency, and ethics (FATE). These changes are necessary to support teacher agency, protect the human aspects of teaching, and ensure that the implementation of AI reinforces, rather than undermining teacher professionalism.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, teacher professionalism, teacher education, digital pedagogy, teacher identity, professional competence, lifelong learning