Defining the Boundaries of AI Use in EFL Writing: Teacher Agency and Pedagogical Boundary Work in Moroccan High School Classrooms

International audience This study examines Moroccan high school EFL teachers’ agency in AI-assisted writing as a form of pedagogical boundary work, where teachers are not simply adopters or resistors of AI tools but active decision-makers who negotiate the limits between support and substitution, assistance and dependence, and innovation and the preservation of students’ writing effort. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design with a qualitative emphasis, the study first collected questionnaire data from 50 Moroccan public high school EFL teachers in Rabat, Salé, and Témara, followed by semi-structured interviews with 12 selected participants to further explore and contextualize the findings. Convenience sampling enabled the inclusion of teachers with varying levels of familiarity and engagement with AI-assisted writing tools. The results indicate that teachers’ cautious stance toward AI does not reflect resistance to technological change, but rather a pedagogically grounded effort to safeguard the learning value of writing in a rapidly evolving instructional context. The study concludes that teacher agency is central to the future of AI integration in EFL writing, and that effective implementation depends on teachers’ ability to regulate AI use through clear pedagogical principles, writing-specific guidance, and institutional support.