The paper outlines future directions for collaborative curriculum design in the Italian educational context, where Artificial Intelligence (AI) serves not only as a content generator but also as a catalyst for bridging disciplinary boundaries. The future of AI is inherently unpredictable, presenting both benefits and threats that impact reality more significantly than other technologies. Nevertheless, we can learn to adapt our choices and organize our behaviors to influence the future. This is especially crucial in the educational sector, where a new literacy is necessary to afirm human intentionality as a key factor in interactions with technologies like AI. The proposed case study relates to the experimental introduction of the AI discipline at the Marconi-Pieralisi upper secondary school in Jesi (IT). This initiative, along with two other important recent reforms, represents a significant curricular innovation in the Italian educational landscape: the introduction of civic education as a compulsory subject in all schools in the country, and the reorganization of technical institutes. By reframing the case study, the paper proposes a pathway toward AI-mediated interdisciplinary curriculum integration.
The digital technological revolution, which includes disruptive AI, significantly impacts all aspects
of social and political life [
Digital literacy is a critical educational issue for the development of knowledge society [
A common definition of digital citizenship is the promotion of responsible online behaviour as well as
civic and social justice engagement, which includes definitions that emphasise technological aspects
and digital skills [20]. As a result, digital citizenship education seeks to promote healthy and safe
behaviours while also encouraging proactive, reflective, and respectful attitudes towards online content
creation and self-expression [21]. As discussed above, the importance of responsible technology use
was acknowledged in 2006 and again in 2018 by the European Parliament [
Alongside the creation of the Italian civic education regulatory framework, schools in Italy have taken independent steps to create their own digital curricula that integrate the principles of digital citizenship. During the 2017/2018 school year, school leaders from lower and upper secondary schools in Val di Non and Val di Sole [27] formed a collaborative network to develop a shared digital citizenship curriculum. Based on the DigComp 2.1 framework, the initiative aligns with best practices in ICT integration and reflects the evolving nature of digital education. The curriculum follows a vertically integrated structure from primary school to the first and second years of upper secondary school (which in Italy determines the end of compulsory schooling). It is grounded in the belief that digital competence is as essential as traditional academic skills, forming the foundation for responsible citizenship in a connected world. This holistic approach underscores the relevance of digital literacy for students’ personal growth and professional futures. Finalized in May 2022, the curriculum was validated by experts from the Provincial Institute for Educational Research and Experimentation (IPRASE), confirming its educational quality and alignment with regional and European standards. In a parallel initiative, educators from Valle d’Aosta developed an alternative digital curriculum inspired by IPRASE’s work. Grounded in the latest DigComp 2.2 framework, the project ofers a structured approach to digital education with clear guidelines and best practices tailored to diferent educational levels [ 28]. Also the "Vertical Digital Curriculum" covers ifve "two-year" periods, from primary school to the first and second years of upper secondary school (which in Italy determines the end of compulsory schooling), and is organized around the five DigComp competence areas. Each area is divided into three components: competence development, learning activities, and supporting resources. This flexible design provides an indicative progression path to help schools shape inclusive and efective digital curricula. Both the Valle d’Aosta and Trentino-Alto Adige projects promote digital competence not only as technical skill, but as essential to the ethical and informed use of technology, including AI. These initiatives aim to equip students with the ability to navigate the digital world with confidence, responsibility, and critical awareness, preparing them to be active, socially responsible citizens. Finally, the paper presents a case study of the MarconiPieralisi upper high school in Jesi, Marche region, where the AI discipline has been introduced into the curriculum for fourth- and fifth-year students majoring in Computer Science and Telecommunications [29]. This innovation was made possible by the Institute’s use of its school autonomy quota, which allows Italian schools to integrate existing subject curricula while also introducing new subjects in response to local needs and ongoing social transformations. The new teaching has many touching points with civic education curriculum, which for fourth and fifth year students investigates the thematic core of digital citizenship [29]. Through the combination of the two programmes, students are guided to meet learning objectives pertaining to the development of basic skills, including: critically, responsibly, and consciously accessing information, sources, and digital content; managing digital identities and data online; safeguarding one’s own and others’ safety in digital environments, avoiding risks to one’s physical and mental health; and analysing the issues surrounding the management of digital identities, the right way. Both the digital citizenship core and the AI programme seek to equip students with critical, responsible, and aware digital skills so they can successfully and safely navigate the digital world. Although the Marconi Pieralisi Institute experience developed independently of the Trentino school network’s and Valle d’Aosta educators’ digital curricula, the initiatives share some similarities. All of the projects presented are dedicated to promoting digital competence, not only as a set of technical skills, but also as an important orientation tool for the responsible and informed use of modern technologies. By cultivating these skills, the initiatives hope to prepare students to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape with confidence and integrity, resulting in a generation of technologically proficient and socially responsible citizens. However, the Marconi Pieralisi Institute’s AI programme curriculum has the added benefit of providing students with comprehensive and practical AI training, preparing them to become competent and knowledgeable technology professionals (Appendix 1).
The study took a qualitative approach, with semi-structured interviews with three teachers involved in AI and civic education programmes, as well as the school leader. The interviews sought to delve deeply into the teachers’ perceptions, experiences, and visions about the significance and eficacy of incorporating AI into teaching. The analysis sought to uncover shared meanings, perceived critical issues, and future potential in order to gain a more in-depth understanding of the observed phenomena.
The study included four unstructured narrative interviews conducted in May 2024 with teachers of
Civic Education and Computer Science, as well as the school leader. Participants were asked to reflect
on the rationale behind introducing AI, the design choices made, and the pedagogical challenges
encountered. The collected data were coded using a thematic analysis approach, focusing on emergent
categories such as interdisciplinarity, ethical concerns, assessment, and student engagement. Interviews
were audio-recorded and transcribed for qualitative synthesis. The qualitative data collection utilized
unstructured narrative interviews [
Analysis of the interviews revealed five major themes: (1) The perceived need to align AI education with civic values; (2) The challenge of balancing technical skills with ethical reflection; (3) Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary teaching formats; (4) Concern about the lack of assessment tools for AI literacy. Teachers emphasized the importance of collaboration across departments and proposed a progressive path beginning with conceptual foundations in Civic Education and leading to hands-on data literacy labs in Computer Science. These insights directly informed the design of a modular curriculum outlined below. The ethical aspects of AI were also addressed in civic education classes to ensure that students understood the technology’s potential and the ethical responsibilities that come with its application. The experience with IA didactics resulted in an innovative operational suggestion for improving cooperative and lab dynamics. The interviewees emphasised that inclusive design required teachers to recognise and accommodate diversity in learning in order to fully develop students’ specific abilities and potential. AI literacy entails raising students’ awareness of issues concerning the ownership and protection of data contained in information collected and reused by artificial intelligence applications. According to the philosophy teacher, taking a collaborative and practical approach to teaching AI involves mutually enriching the student-teacher dialogue relationship. The narrative fragments emphasise the digital curriculum’s interdisciplinary nature, highlighting its interactions with various fields of study while also addressing the ethical and legal implications of acquiring digital skills and promoting collaboration among teachers across all disciplines.
This contribution provides an overview of the implementation of digital citizenship education, focussing on the Italian initiative to emphasise civic education’s interdisciplinary nature and AI teaching. This approach is consistent with European and international frameworks for citizenship education, encouraging the integration of digital technologies into various discipline syllabi. This prepares students to face modern challenges and become informed, competent citizens in the digital age. Digital citizenship education emphasises the importance of both technical and critical reading skills, allowing students to understand information processes and interact with technology in an ethical and responsible way. This encourages active social participation and enables students to make meaningful contributions to society. This educational approach relies heavily on interdisciplinary curriculum integration, which connects content, methods, and language from various academic disciplines around common themes, challenges, or experiences. This method goes beyond the traditional separation of subjects—such as math, science, and literature—to demonstrate how they influence and complement one another. A thematic or problem-based approach promotes meaningful and contextualised learning by connecting subjects through central themes or real-world problems. Furthermore, this integration promotes collaboration among teachers from various disciplines, resulting in a cohesive curriculum that overcomes the traditional separation of subjects. Incorporating data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) into this interdisciplinary framework promotes transversal learning by serving as a bridge between disciplines such as statistics, computer science, economics, and biology. This integrated approach allows students to collaborate on complex problems while also developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, AI and data analysis promote innovation and creativity by allowing students to discover new connections between disciplines and inspiring the creation of novel models, solutions, and knowledge. In summary, interdisciplinary curriculum integration provides an educational model that extends beyond traditional subject boundaries to create more meaningful and relevant learning experiences. The incorporation of data analytics and AI expands on this potential, forging connections between disciplines and preparing students to efectively address the complex challenges of the modern world.
During the preparation of this work, the authors used Grammarly and Quillbot for grammar and spelling checks. After using these tools, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and took full responsibility for the content of the publication. [19] J. Hong, K. Kim, Impact of aiot education program on digital and ai literacy of elementary school students, Education and Information Technologies 30 (2025) 107–130. [20] L. M. Jones, K. J. Mitchell, Defining and measuring youth digital citizenship, New media & society 18 (2016) 2063–2079. [21] U. Ministry of Education, Research, Curriculum for digital civic education, 2018. Curriculum for
Education Digital Civics. [22] I. Government, Law no. 92, 20 august 2019: Introduction of school teaching of civic education, Gazzetta Uficiale della Repubblica Italiana, 2019. GU General Series n.195 of 21-08-2019, (19G00105). [23] R. Vuorikari, S. Kluzer, Y. Punie, DigComp 2.2: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens – With new examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes, Publications Ofice of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2022. URL: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128415. [24] M. of Education, I. Merit, Ministerial decree no. 183 of 7 september 2024: Adoption of the guidelines for the teaching of civic education, Gazzetta Uficiale della Repubblica Italiana, 2024. Adoption of the Guidelines for the Teaching of Civic Education. [25] Decreto-legge convertito con modificazioni dalla l. 5 giugno 2025, n. 79, Gazzetta Uficiale della
Repubblica Italiana, 2025. (25G00059) (GU n.81 del 07-04-2025). [26] S. Pasta, P. C. Rivoltella, et al., " superare la “povertà educativa digitale". ipotesi di un nuovo costrutto per la cittadinanza digitale, in: La formazione degli insegnanti: problemi, prospettive e proposte per una scuola di qualità e aperta a tutti e tutte, Pensa MultiMedia Editore, 2022, pp. 600–604. [27] P. I. for Educational Research, E. of the Italian Region of Trentino-Alto Adige, Curriculum for the development of digital competence, Online, 2022. URL: https://curriculum-digitale.iprase.tn.it/, accessed on 09/07/2025. [28] S. e. e. P. p. l. r. i. Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta, Assessorato Beni e attività culturali, D. S. agli Studi Uficio Supporto all’Autonomia Scolastica, Curriculum per lo sviluppo della competenza digitale, Online, 2025. URL: https://curricolo-digitale.scuole.vda.it/, accessed on 09/07/2025. [29] M.-P. H. E. Institute, Three-year plan training ofer: 2022 – 2025 (ptof), Online, 2022. URL: https: //www.iismarconipieralisi.edu.it/didattica/oferta-formativa/piano-oferta-formativa, accessed on 09/07/2025.
B. Appendix 2 1. Could you retrace the steps that led to the integration of AI into your school’s ITd telecommunications technical programme? 2. How were the teachers and classes that participated in the experiment identified? 3. Was training ofered and, if applicable, given to the teachers involved? If so, what were the methods and timeframe? What inclusive learning communication methods were implemented? And is there any additional refresher or follow-up training planned? 4. What about the types of diversity in the classroom, such as age, background, internal dynamics, and relationships with teachers? 5. How do teachers’ commitment and presence change in response to the opportunities presented by the use of AI-based technologies? 6. What criteria are used to assess the impact of AI implementation on the vertical curriculum of the school’s technical specialisation in IT and telecommunications? 7. According to the school’s PTOF, the cross-curricular civic education curriculum for fourth and fifth grades focusses on the thematic cores of digital citizenship and the Constitution, law (national and international), legality, and solidarity for fifth graders, which include topics such as profiling and cybersecurity.
What are your thoughts on raising awareness among students and teachers about issues concerning data ownership and protection in information collected and reused by AI applications? 8. What do you believe are the most important steps towards new literacy to address digital educational poverty, which is defined as a lack of digital skill acquisition?
B List of segments The following segments were translated from Italian into English. 1. The Computer Science department proposed introducing AI as a subject to better prepare students for university and meet external needs. Approval from the Teachers’ Board was required, emphasizing teamwork and management consensus. 2. Discipline planning focused on standard content, despite no specific guidelines. In-house training was crucial for teachers to understand both the historical and technical aspects of AI. 3. The Institute plans to introduce AI as a separate subject in its three-year computer science curriculum, leveraging the expertise of teachers who studied AI extensively. [. . . ] Recognizing the importance of preparing students for future challenges, the Institute has noted a demand for AI skills from local companies, highlighting its role as a regional educational resource. 4. The goal is not to train experts in AI, but rather to provide students with the skills to debunk clichés and understand AI as a useful technological tool. 5. Introducing AI in the curriculum requires structured practical and lab activities to foster experiential learning and enhance student understanding. 6. Lessons are structured to alternate practical applications with theoretical aspects, focusing on developing students’ ability to independently research and complete work within a set timeframe. 7. For students with special educational needs, the lab ofers signicfiant advantages, as computers often serve as a compensatory tool. However, some students may struggle, so we’ve implemented cooperative work in pairs to support classmates with fragile needs through tutoring. 8. The teaching of the IA discipline in classrooms primarily focuses on workshop activities to enhance communication and promote inclusiveness. 9. AI has also been integrated into the civic education curriculum where the ethical aspects of the application of technology are mainly addressed. It is important that students understand the ethical and social implications of AI, not only as a technological tool, but also as something that can influence everyday life and social dynamics. 10. The students were unfamiliar with philosophy, which allowed them to freely express their views. This led to an interesting mutual learning experience between us. We engaged in a philosophical dialogue about the ethical rules and principles that should guide the development of artificial intelligence systems for lawful purposes.