Teaching With AI or Teaching Through AI? Investigating Teacher Agency among Moroccan Pre-Service EFL Teachers

Abstract

The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into educational settings has generated significant scholarly debate about its implications for teacher professionalism. This qualitative study explores how Moroccan pre-service EFL teachers at two teacher education institutions, ENS Rabat and ESEF Kénitra, perceive the impact of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Grammarly, and others on their pedagogical decision-making and professional autonomy. Drawing on Priestley et al.’s (2015) ecological model of teacher agency and Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis framework, data were collected from 42 purposively sampled participants, drawn from the wider target population of pre-service EFL teachers engaged in practicum-based training at Moroccan teacher education institutions (CRMEF, ENS, and ESEF centers), through an open-ended qualitative survey. Four major themes emerged from the analysis: (a) AI as a pedagogical co-pilot, (b) convenience versus critical engagement, (c) negotiated teacher agency, and (d) emerging professional identities in the AI era. The findings indicate that while AI enhances instructional efficiency and builds confidence among novice teachers, uncritical reliance on AI-generated content risks limiting opportunities for independent pedagogical reasoning and reflective practice. Crucially, participants did not perceive AI as eliminating teacher agency; rather, they described agency as continuously negotiated through technology-mediated interactions. The study advances a conceptual distinction between “teaching with AI”, whereby teachers employ AI as a supportive resource while retaining professional judgment, and “teaching through AI,” whereby instructional decisions are progressively delegated to algorithmic systems. Implications for AI literacy development and critical pedagogy within Moroccan teacher education programs are discussed. The article concludes by discussing implications for AI literacy development and critical pedagogy within Moroccan teacher education, and offers recommendations for teacher education curricula, institutional policy, and future research on AI-mediated professional development.