The Interplay of Teacher Agency and <scp>TPACK</scp> in <scp>AI</scp> ‐Integrated Science Education: Insights From Exemplary Practice Cases

ABSTRACT Background Teacher agency plays a pivotal role in technology‐enhanced instruction, yet empirical evidence connecting agency to the practical enactment of specific components of TPACK remains limited. In particular, the intersections between teacher agency and TPK/TCK as enacted practices warrant closer scrutiny. Objective This study empirically examined how manifestations of teacher agency—individual, co‐ and collective—are interlinked with the enactment of TPK and TCK in exemplary cases of instructional innovation, with a focus on the integration of emerging technologies, including AI. Methods Seventeen award‐winning science education reports, treated as instructional artefacts, were analysed using a hybrid deductive–inductive thematic analysis. The study first categorised cases based on established TPK/TCK and teacher agency frameworks, then utilised a cross‐matrix approach to identify empirical typologies and represent the multilayered intersections. Results TPK was evident across all cases and appeared to support teacher agency across individual, co‐ and collective domains, where broadly applicable tools enhanced instructional orchestration and resource sharing. In contrast, TCK appeared selectively in subject‐specific contexts, demanding disciplinary expertise and aligning mainly with individual agency. AI integration operated flexibly across both domains, amplifying pedagogical orchestration in TPK‐oriented practices while supporting content‐specific analytical and inquiry processes in TCK‐oriented enactments. Conclusions The findings suggest a reciprocal dynamic in which teacher agency supports technology integration, while enacted TPACK may also expand the scope of agency. TPK underpins cross‐contextual transferability, while TCK advances disciplinary specialisation—both central to understanding and supporting AI‐integrated science education. The study provides empirical typologies of their interplay with teacher agency, offering differentiated strategies for teacher professional development and policy that reflect the distinct functional roles of TPK and TCK in AI‐integrated science education.