Conference Program

This paper presents an empirical case study from an Italian lower secondary school exploring the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within a civic education pathway grounded in Article 54 of the Italian Constitution, which emphasizes duty, responsibility, and service to the Republic. The study investigates how AI can be incorporated into classroom practice while preserving pedagogical judgment and fostering critical thinking, student agency, and democratic learning. The project developed through structured and progressive phases. Students first engaged in reflective civic inquiry through creative and analytical activities, including acrostics centred on constitutional values (duty, honour, loyalty, discipline, sacrifice, oath), autobiographical writing, and the collective composition of a poem. The pathway also included an encounter with the author of a book dedicated to the journalist Antonio Russo, whose professional commitment provided a framework for discussing ethical responsibility and public service. Additionally, students conducted and examined an interview with a witness connected to the figure of magistrate Emilio Alessandrini, introducing authentic testimonial material into the learning process. AI was introduced gradually and framed as an object of reflection rather than as an authoritative source. Within a sociocultural perspective informed by Vygotsky, AI functioned as a mediating tool whose educational value depended on teacher guidance and critical use. In one phase, a collectively written poem was transformed into a song through an AI-based application while maintaining full student ownership of meaning and content. In another phase, AI-supported transcription and summarisation tools were employed during the guided analysis of the recorded interview. Students were encouraged to distinguish between information, interpretation, and personal elaboration, developing awareness of how AI systems reorganise discourse. The case addresses the two dimensions highlighted in this panel. Regarding the teacher’s role, AI integration was based on deliberate instructional design and explicit ethical framing. Decisions about its use were made transparent, ensuring that evaluative and interpretative authority remained human and pedagogically grounded. Regarding student empowerment, the pathway promoted critical AI literacy through dialogical practices inspired by Bakhtin and metacognitive self-evaluation grounded in Flavell’s framework. Structured written reflections following the author encounter supported students in examining both content and learning processes. Recently awarded first prize in a national civic education competition focused on constitutional values, the project demonstrates that AI can contribute to democratic education when embedded in reflective pedagogy and intentional mediation. The findings suggest that critical AI literacy emerges through guided dialogue, ethical positioning, and metacognitive practice rather than through technical proficiency alone. By positioning AI as a dialogical partner requiring critical engagement, this study contributes to discussions on balancing technological innovation with democratic responsibility in educational contexts.