Growth Mindset, Teacher Efficacy, and Intelligent‐TPACK Among Pre‐Service EFL Teachers: A Moderated Mediation Model With Prior Teaching Experience

ABSTRACT With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), AI‐based tools are reshaping educational practices and raising important questions about teachers’ competence in AI‐enhanced environments. Drawing on the intelligent Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (intelligent‐TPACK) framework, this study examined the effects of pre‐service EFL teachers’ growth mindset on intelligent‐TPACK (AI‐TPACK), with AI‐related teacher efficacy as a mediator and substitute teaching experience as a moderator. Questionnaire data were collected from 208 pre‐service EFL teachers in Taiwan and analyzed using IBM SPSS and SmartPLS. The results showed that growth mindset positively predicted both AI‐related teacher efficacy and AI‐TPACK. Teacher efficacy partially mediated the relationship between growth mindset and AI‐TPACK. In addition, moderation analyses indicated that pre‐service teachers with less teaching experience were more open to adopting AI‐based tools, which enhanced their AI‐TPACK, whereas those with more teaching experience demonstrated higher efficacy in using AI tools, which in turn strengthened their AI‐TPACK. Substitute teaching experience did not moderate the relationship between growth mindset and teacher efficacy. The findings suggest that AI‐TPACK is not only knowledge based but also belief‐driven and enacted through efficacy‐related processes. Pedagogically, the study highlights the importance of integrating reflective mindset development with AI‐supported instructional practice in pre‐service teacher education.