Charalambos Stertsos

Supervisory Committee

• Cleopatra Chrysi Gerakopoulou (Supervisor), Assistant Professor, Ionian University
• Georgios Iliadis, Associate Professor,  University of Peloponesse
• Ioannis Katerelos, Professor, Panteion University

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation investigates how the rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the educational environment influences the formation and reconfiguration of teachers’ professional identity. Through an interpretive phenomenological approach, the study explores the deeper dimensions of this relationship, focusing on the Greek educational system as a case study that reveals the cultural and social dimensions of technological change.

The research is grounded in a multi-layered theoretical framework that integrates theories of postmodernity and liquid identity (Bauman, Giddens), social representations theory (Moscovici, Abric), classical approaches to symbolic interactionism (Mead, Goffman), and contemporary theories of technology and society (Latour, Bijker). This theoretical synthesis enables a comprehensive understanding of how teachers negotiate the presence of AI in their professional lives.

Methodologically, the study adopts innovative approaches, including in-depth interviews with teachers, focus groups, digital ethnography of online teacher communities, and projective techniques aimed at uncovering unconscious attitudes and perceptions. Data analysis follows the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), emphasizing an in-depth exploration of subjective experiences and meaning-making processes.

Preliminary findings from the literature point to a complex picture of professional reconfiguration, in which teachers develop new strategies of adaptation and resistance, construct innovative social representations of AI, and redefine their role from “transmitters of knowledge” to “mediators of learning.” The research contributes both to the theoretical understanding of professional identity in the digital era and to the formulation of practical recommendations for educational policy and teacher training.