The Impact of Time Poverty on Teachers’ AI Readiness: The Mediating Role of Teacher Resilience and the Moderating Role of Career Calling

Abstract Teachers' time poverty is closely related to their readiness for artificial intelligence (AI). Time poverty not only affects teachers' mental health but may also hinder their acceptance and application of new technologies. This study employed a cross-sectional survey method and, based on theoretical frameworks such as the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, explored the impact of time poverty on teachers' AI readiness and examined the mediating role of teacher resilience and the moderating role of career calling. The study sample consisted of 578 primary and secondary school teachers in China. The results showed that: (1) time poverty does not have a significant direct impact on teachers' AI readiness; (2) teacher resilience fully mediates the relationship between time poverty and teachers' AI readiness, that is, time poverty indirectly enhances teachers' AI readiness by increasing their teacher resilience; (3) career calling only significantly moderates the direct path from time poverty to teacher resilience, with a stronger career calling weakening the positive impact of time poverty on teacher resilience. This study fills the gap in research on the relationship between time poverty and teachers' AI readiness, providing a theoretical basis for educational managers and policymakers, which is conducive to optimizing teachers' digital teaching environment and improving their AI readiness level.