Generative AI and Teacher Education: Evidence from the PRAXIS Framework in Italian Educational Contexts

This article reports findings from a cross-sectional survey of 662 participants in Italian educational contexts, including secondary school students, university students, pre-service teachers, and in-service teachers. Using the PRAXIS framework, which organises GenAI adoption across six dimensions, usage patterns, perceived competence, adequacy of training, expectations of change, interpersonal and institutional trust, and scepticism, the study examines differences in uses, beliefs, and concerns across educational groups. Results show a marked generational divide in adoption, a consistent gap between practical and theoretical competence, and training perceived as inadequate across groups. A pattern of defensive distancing also emerges: teachers recognise that GenAI is changing education, but perceive a smaller impact on their own teaching. Overall, GenAI adoption appears to be advancing faster than the institutional development of critical and pedagogically grounded competences. The study provides an empirical basis for rethinking teacher education as a matter not only of digital upskilling, but also of educational responsibility and learning rights in the transition to GenAI.