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Democracy and citizenship education are key priorities across European education systems, with schools and teacher education playing vital roles in preparing young people for participation in society (Raiker et al., 2019). Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly important in this context, making it a key priority for the European Commission (2020) in light of how digital technologies are globally reshaping relationships between democracy, technology, and education (Vuorikari et al., 2022). In European schools, democracy and citizenship are commonly addressed in the school subject social science education. Because this subject is responsive to its societal context (Sandahl, 2018), the changing relationships between democracy and technology place new demands on social science teacher education, with AI as a crucial aspect. Specifically, teacher educators need professional digital competence (PDC) to prepare social science teachers to address democracy related to AI and other digital technologies, which in the literature has emerged as a distinct field known as digital citizenship. While research has highlighted the importance of teacher educators’ PDC in supporting student teachers’ development of knowledge and skills related to digital technologies broadly (Gudmundsdottir & Hatlevik, 2018), less is known about how teacher educators view their PDC and teaching responsibilities related to digital citizenship with a focus on AI (Örtegren & Olofsson, 2024; Velander et al., 2024; cf. Sperling et al., 2024).

Through a survey, this mixed-methods paper examines the following research questions: (a) What patterns emerge in how social science teacher educators across teacher education institutions in Sweden view their PDC and teaching responsibilities related to digital citizenship?, and (b) How do social science teacher educators view the role of social science education in addressing AI as part of teaching for digital citizenship? The Swedish context offers insights into broader European trends in digital citizenship education (European Commission, 2021), particularly discussions about teacher educators’ preparedness to address democracy in rapidly evolving societal contexts where technology and social practices influence each other (Cervera & Caena, 2022; MacKenzie & Wajcman, 2005).

The paper is theoretically informed by conceptualizations of PDC as dynamic and responsive to societal changes, where teacher educators face a dual-didactic task: teaching both subject content and how to teach that content (Uerz et al., 2018). Reportedly, this dual role is particularly complex in social science education, where content itself is in flux due to rapid sociotechnical developments. This paper thus addresses calls for research on how teacher education institutions across Europe prepare future teachers to address the implications of digital technologies for democracy (Flores, 2023; Örtegren, 2024; Vajen et al., 2023).

Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used

The study employed a convergent mixed-methods design (Creswell & Clark, 2018) where quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously through a web-based survey distributed to social science teacher educators across Sweden’s teacher education institutions. Participants were identified through purposive sampling, with recommendations from 16 program coordinators, directors of studies, and subject directors at Swedish teacher education institutions, identifying 78 teacher educators whose teaching included or could include questions related to digital citizenship.

The survey combined closed and open-ended questions, allowing for both broad pattern identification and deeper insights into teacher educators’ views (Creswell & Clark, 2018). The survey design was informed by previous qualitative studies in the Swedish teacher education context (Örtegren, 2022; Örtegren & Olofsson, 2024), with additional questions concerning AI technologies. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS, while qualitative data from open-ended questions were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun et al., 2019) in NVivo to enable an integrated (mixed) interpretation of the results.

Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings

Initial analyses suggest that as teacher educators navigate their dual-didactic task related to digital citizenship, particularly concerning AI, differences emerge in PDC and teaching responsibilities. Specifically, the analyses suggest three themes. First, while teacher educators generally acknowledge the importance of addressing digital citizenship in social science teacher education, including AI, there seem to be variations in what aspects they believe should be addressed and how. Initial analyses highlight the dominant role of source criticism, although interpretations of what this means for teaching and learning may vary.

Second, the early results indicate that teacher educators’ personal trajectories and institutional contexts influence their approach to teaching for digital citizenship. This includes how previous teaching experience, research interests, and disciplinary backgrounds can shape their understanding of why digital citizenship should be addressed in social science teacher education and the extent to which AI should be incorporated.

Third, the initial analyses also point to organizational and personal conditions, and how these can influence teacher educators’ PDC to teach for digital citizenship. Organizational challenges may include maintaining responsiveness to societal and technological change, particularly concerning AI – a key priority in European education policy (European Commission, 2021). Personal conditions are potentially linked to disciplinary backgrounds, reflecting broader European challenges in teacher education, where teacher educators’ preparedness to address emerging technologies like AI varies considerably across institutions and disciplines (Cervera & Caena, 2022).

In the European context, these results can inform teacher education research and practice by providing insights into how institutions can better support teacher educators’ PDC development in ways that are responsive to sociotechnical change. This includes understanding how disciplinary backgrounds and institutional contexts shape approaches to digital citizenship, and developing organizational structures that promote both responsiveness to emerging technologies like AI and program cohesion at European teacher education institutions.