Teacher Agency in the Pedagogical Uses of ICT: A Holistic Perspective Emanating from Reflexive Practice

Abstract

This article discusses a case study on teacher agency about the pedagogical uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The investigation explored a school ecosystem that has developed a model of reflexive practice aimed at promoting teacher agency from a holistic and relational perspective. The primary case comprised six sub-cases using ICTs with students and deliberated on these uses by applying the reflexive model promoted within the school boundaries. Data were analyzed thematically. Observations of teaching practices with ICTs, reflexive practice sessions on ICT uses, and interviews with the heads of departments of the observed teachers yielded the relevance of collaborative agency in the context of the digital age as it brings together policy, theory, and practice. In line with the claims of relevant literature, the study shows that an articulated dialogue between these dimensions is relevant for using technologies in education according to the specificities of teachers’ institutional ecosystem.

The Role of the Teacher: Function, Missions and Timeless Purposes

“…With regard to the teaching function, another of the great roles, of the many that he has in charge, the teacher, according to Perrenoud (1997, p. 25) must be aware that "teaching is, first of all, to make the knowledge artisanally, making it teachable, exercisable and evaluable in the framework of a class, a year, a schedule, a system of communication and work". Several authors present some professional competences that include: organizing and animating learning situations; managing the progression of learning; designing and developing differentiation devices; involving students in their learning and work; working as a team; participating in school management; informing and involving parents; using new technologies; confronting the duties and ethical dilemmas of the profession; managing their own ongoing training (Perrenoud, 1997;Morgado, 2015;Nóvoa, 2021;Celestino et al, 2024;Morgado et al, 2024;Novoa-Echaurren, 2024 ). The symbiosis of established relationships between teachers and students is somehow the nerve center of the whole pedagogical process.…”