Negotiating the machine

Teacher and student resistance to linguistically unequal AI in Moroccan multilingual education

Authors

  • Wyssal El Gourari Cadi Ayyad University
  • Rachid Ed-Dali Cadi Ayyad University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/0dyret54

Keywords:

teacher agency , student voice, educational artificial intelligence, multilingual education, resistance, Morocco

Abstract

Educational AI deployment in multilingual contexts often assumes passive adoption, yet little research examines how users respond to systems positioning languages unequally. This ethnographic study investigated teacher and student responses to AI systems treating French and Arabic differently in Moroccan secondary schools. Eighteen months of fieldwork across four schools included classroom observations (N=78), interviews (N=15), and student focus groups (N=60). Thematic analysis revealed three patterns: teachers developed systematic appropriation strategies in 67% of lessons (78% in Arabic-medium contexts), students recognized differential treatment (78%) and created tactical workarounds, and collective resistance emerged through professional networks and advocacy. Findings challenge technological determinism, demonstrating that user resistance constitutes professional expertise, revealing system inadequacies. Teacher and student adaptations specify requirements for equitable educational AI, offering essential design knowledge that vendors currently ignore.

Author Biographies

  • Wyssal El Gourari, Cadi Ayyad University

    Rachid Ed-Dali is a professor of Applied Linguistic Studies at Cadi Ayyad University, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Marrakech. His academic profile is grounded in linguistics, applied English studies, discourse analysis, translation studies, sociolinguistics, and language education. He has published research on EFL education, translation, assistive technologies, tourism discourse, and AI-related language issues

  • Rachid Ed-Dali, Cadi Ayyad University

    Wyssal El Gourari is a Ph.D student at Cadi Ayyad University. Her research interests include EFL education, textbook analysis, sustainable development in language education, generative AI, and digital tourism discourse. She has co-authored academic work on topics such as the integration of Sustainable Development Goals into Moroccan EFL textbooks, history education and generative AI, and linguistic strategies in Marrakech’s online reviews and promotional texts. 

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Additional Files

Published

2026-06-16

Issue

Vol. 24 (2026): American Journal of STEM Education

Section

STEM Education (regular)

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Wyssal El Gourari, Rachid Ed-Dali

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) [year] [author]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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How to Cite

El Gourari, W., & Ed-Dali, R. (2026). Negotiating the machine: Teacher and student resistance to linguistically unequal AI in Moroccan multilingual education. American Journal of STEM Education, 24, 129-156. https://doi.org/10.32674/0dyret54