How professional capital empowers ICT Integration: The roles of teachers’ constructivist belief, differentiated instruction and AI literacy

• Professional capital was positively associated with constructivist belief and differentiated instruction. • Professional capital was positively related to ICT integration via the dual mediating pathways of differentiated instruction and AI literacy. • Constructivist belief showed no significant association with ICT integration. • AI literacy operated as both an outcome of differentiated instruction and a catalyst for ICT integration. Research has yet to fully uncover how professional capital translates into effective ICT integration by teachers in the age of artificial intelligence. Grounded in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, this study analyzed data from 1015 Chinese middle school teachers using structural equation modeling. This study unveiled that: (1) Professional capital was positively associated with constructivist belief and differentiated instruction, respectively; (2) Professional capital was positively related to ICT integration via the mediating roles of differentiated instruction and AI literacy; (3) Although constructivist belief showed no significant association with ICT integration, gender and disciplinary differences emerged; (4) A sequential mediation chain of constructivist belief, differentiated instruction and AI literacy was identified; (5) AI literacy served as both an outcome of differentiated instruction and a catalyst for ICT integration. These results extend the TPACK framework by incorporating AI literacy and differentiated instruction and offer practical insights for teacher development programs aiming to strengthen teachers’ technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), aligning pedagogical philosophy, teaching practices, and emerging technology.