The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence in education is forcing us to rethink the competencies teachers need to address the challenges of increasingly digitalized teaching and learning.
In this context, the article “Critical Thinking Awareness as a Key to Teacher Self-Efficacy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”, by Liliana Pedraja-Rejas, Katherine Acosta García, Sara Maldonado-Araya, Sandra Ramírez Hernández, and Martín Navarro-Ibañez, published in RIED, examines the relationship between teacher self-efficacy, critical thinking awareness, and AI literacy among both pre-service and in-service teachers in Chile. Based on a large sample of 1,169 participants, the study is grounded in a central premise: the effective integration of AI requires far more than technical skills.
The findings reveal significant differences between pre-service and in-service teachers across all three dimensions analyzed. However, the most important result is that critical thinking awareness emerges as the strongest predictor of teacher self-efficacy in both groups. In other words, teachers’ confidence in their professional abilities depends more on their willingness to analyze, question, and critically evaluate information and pedagogical decisions than on their technological knowledge alone.
In addition, AI literacy has different effects depending on professional experience. While it contributes positively to the self-efficacy of in-service teachers, among future teachers it can produce more ambivalent effects by increasing awareness of the complexity and risks associated with these technologies.
The study concludes that strengthening critical thinking should become a strategic priority in teacher education programs. Beyond teaching how to use artificial intelligence tools, educational institutions need to foster competencies that enable educators to assess their ethical, pedagogical, and social implications.
In a context marked by the rapid expansion of AI, the authors argue that the combination of critical thinking, technological literacy, and professional experience will be essential for building a more reflective, responsible, and inclusive integration of these technologies into education.
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How to Cite: Pedraja-Rejas, L., Acosta García, K., Maldonado-Araya, S., Ramírez Hernández, S., & Navarro-Ibañez, M. (2026). Critical thinking awareness as a key to teacher self-efficacy in the age of artificial intelligence. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 29(2). https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.47046
