Teaching Agency and Digital Competence. A case study of an Italian technical high school

The paper investigates teaching agency in relation to teachers’ digital competence through a case study analysis undertaken at the Graphic Technological Institute in Italy. The theoretical underpinnings of the study draw on the perspective of agency as a continuum between intrinsic characteristics, capacities to act, and contextual dynamics of teachers in a teaching context of digital transformation. The research, con-ducted during the S.Y. 2023/2024 in collaboration between the Salesian University Institute of Venice and the Department of Informatics at the University of Turin, took place at the at the Salesian technical high school in the north-east of Italy, where the application of the digital platform FirstLife was investigated in the teaching of Digital Civic Education. The study aimed to investigate the dimensions of the teachers’ digital competence in terms of teaching agency, exploring their preparation for and predisposition to the changes facing the teaching profession in relation to the literature. To this end, a mixed-methods approach was used. Survey instruments included a digital competence questionnaire administered to 60 students (aged 16–19 years) before and after the teaching intervention, and a focus group undertaken with six teachers. The results point to a cri-tical use of technologies by teachers, who consider both the opportunities and risks underlying their professionalism in the development of digital competencies and their agentivity.