AI Literacy and TVET Teaching Practice: The Mediating Role of Generative AI Competence in Southeast Nigeria

The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), is transforming the knowledge, skills and pedagogical practices required of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) educators. However, possessing basic AI literacy does not necessarily translate into meaningful AI-enabled teaching practice. This study investigates the relationship between AI literacy and AI-enabled teaching practice among TVET educators in South-Eastern Nigeria, with particular attention to the mediating role of generative AI competence in educator capacity building for global relevance. The study adoptes a correlational survey design and was conceptually anchored in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, complemented by human-centered AI competency principles. A sample of 320 TVET educators was used for the analysis. Data were collected using an AI Literacy Scale, Generative AI Competence Scale and AI-Enabled Teaching Practice Scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Structural Equation Modelling were used for data analysis, while bootstrapping was used to test the mediation effect. The findings indicates positive relationships between AI literacy, generative AI competence and AI-enabled teaching practice. AI literacy significantly predicted generative AI competence, while generative AI competence significantly predicted AI-enabled teaching practice. The direct relationship between AI literacy and teaching practice remained significant but was reduced after the mediator was introduced, indicating partial mediation. The findings suggest that capacity building programmes should move beyond awareness of AI towards practical competence in prompt design, content generation, assessment, ethical use, verification and pedagogical integration. The study concludes that strengthening GenAI competence may constitute an important mechanism through which AI literacy is converted into meaningful teaching practice among TVET educators in South-Eastern Nigeria.