Constructing University Teachers’ Digital Identity in AI-Enhanced Education: The Mediating Roles of Digital Literacy and Psychological Capital

Generative artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly embedded in higher education, raising important questions about how university teachers understand their professional roles in technology-rich classrooms. Drawing on identity theory, this study examined the associations among human-AI co-teaching, digital literacy, psychological capital, and university teachers’ digital identity. Survey data were collected from 700 university teachers in China and analyzed using structural equation modeling and bootstrapped mediation analysis. The results showed that human-AI co-teaching was positively associated with teachers’ digital identity. Digital literacy and psychological capital both served as significant mediators, indicating that teachers’ cognitive adaptation to digital tools and positive psychological resources are important pathways linking AI-supported teaching practices to digital identity. The study contributes to identity theory by showing how an AI-enhanced teaching context may be connected to teachers’ identity verification through cognitive and affective-motivational resources. Because the study used cross-sectional self-report data from Chinese university teachers, the findings should be interpreted as associative rather than causal. The findings suggest that universities should support teachers not only through AI teaching infrastructure but also through digital literacy development and support for psychological capital.