Professional Agency and Digital Literacy in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

The rapid and transformative proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has inaugurated a profound socio-technical epoch in English Language Teacher Education (ELTE), necessitating a critical and rigorous re-evaluation of established pedagogical paradigms. This qualitative inquiry delves into the multifaceted intersection of generative AI integration and the professional agency of EFL practitioners within the Iranian academic context. The primary objective of this investigation was to systematically examine the perceptions, ontological shifts, and technological preparedness of teacher educators regarding the incorporation of algorithmic tools in instructional settings. Utilizing a robust qualitative research design, data were synthesized through in-depth semi-structured interviews with fifteen academic experts and teacher trainers. The thematic analysis of the corpus revealed four dominant dimensions contributing to the digital identity of educators: pedagogical sovereignty in automated environments, the mitigation of algorithmic bias, the necessity for ethical AI engagement, and the transformation of the teacher's role from a traditional knowledge mediator to a facilitator of AI-human symbiotic learning. The findings underscore that future-ready teacher education must transcend mere instrumentalist training, fostering a synergistic resilience that balances computational efficiency with the nuanced socio-affective intuition of human instructors. This research provides a strategic roadmap for curricular reform and professional development in the era of digital intelligence.

کلیدواژه ها:

Teacher Education ، Artifical intelligence ، Digital literacy ، Professional Agency