• Purpose of the study. The purpose of this paper is to identify whether or not teachers and learners agency (Scanlon & Connolly, 2021) within the digital environment plays a role in its impact on teaching and learning in the classroom by investigating the perceptions and attitudes of teachers and learners currently involved in a digital based classroom. Ireland’s commitment to leverage the potential of digital technologies in education as means to prepare children for full participation in society and the economy is evident with the development of the new Computing Science (CS) Curriculum (DES, 2018) for secondary schools. When curriculums are developed they often neglect timely and authentic involvement of all relevant stakeholders inclusive of teachers and learners (OECD, 2021) and there is currently no available data on how this curriculum contributes to the current levels of engagement with this subject among teachers and learners. The intent of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of trends within the digital environment and how the CS classroom can provide spaces of engagement in Post Primary (PP) Education. “The society in which our children will grow up, will be one which has been fundamentally transformed by new technology. Our education system must prepare our children to thrive in such an environment equipping them with skills in creativity, adaptability and problem solving” (DES, 2018). Teachers and learners' voices and agency are at the heart of capturing this commitment to the digital world. 

• The Research question for this paper focuses on what is the connection of attitudes towards the digital environment and that impact on teaching and learning in the PP classroom. For the successful implementation of the CS subject, key challenges remain, from teachers’ digital competencies (McGarr & McDonagh, 2021) or their capacity to implement suitable strategies in the classroom (Scanlon & Connolly, 2021) to learners’ experiences of the CS curriculum (MQ & Hourigan & McCoy, 2019) and attitudes towards CS in general (McGarr, Exton, Power, & McInerney, 2021; LERO, 2020). Unlike other subjects in the Irish Curriculum, CS has always been conceived digitally, the design of its curriculum has always been considered within the digital environment, and the learning experiences offered, are strongly interconnected to the affordances, opportunities and limitations offered by this space.

• Theoretical framework. This paper seeks to capture and explore teaching pedagogies (Harding N. et al., 2017) and the enactment of educators agency (Biesta, Priestley & Robinson, 2017; Scanlon & Connolly, 2021) and learners agency (Manyukhina & Wyse, 2019). Agency is not something that people can have, as a property, quality, capacity or competence moreover it is something that people do and achieve. Specifically, agency is a quality of the engagement of actors within the specific context to act (Biesa & Priestley & Robinson, 2017), not a quality of the actors themselves. This paper focuses on an Ecological approach to agency through the lens of achievement within the particular environments, through particular ecological conditions (Biesta & Tedder, 2006). Bronfenbrenners (1979) ecological perspective centres on the quality and situation of the learner's environment; within the classroom as a child develops, the interaction and communication within these environments becomes more entangled. This entanglement can come to light as the learners' physical and cognitive structures develop and evolve while always impacted upon by the teachers' individual agency within the class and curriculum. The voices of teachers and learners who are at the centre of the digital environments must be heard in order to ensure that the curriculum is being enacted towards its vision for the future (Murray, Heinz, Munday, Keane, Flynn, Connolly, Hall & MacRuairc, 2020).

Design - The research project is a qualitative case study situated within an critical realist approach to educational research. A qualitative single case study has been chosen and is suitable to explore a single, particular and unique case (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The unique case for this research is the exclusive system of CS introduced and the single case study will have four embedded case studies within different contexts of the Irish PP schools. Methodology [Philosophical Worldview] - This research emphasises critical realism according to (Creswell & Creswell, 2018) in order to capture the full range of factors which are influencing teachers and learners’ environments by situating agency within both individual and structural contexts as recommended by Wyse (2019). Likewise both Archer (2020) and Bhaskar (2020) assert that the social world must be understood effectively to determine the reasons behind actions within the social structures which are at play. Participants and sample size - The paper presents data through five case study designs within PP Schools in Ireland. The research will comparatively review and critically analyse the experiences of the teachers and students in a Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) rural Co-Educational school, urban Co-Educational non-DEIS, non-DEIS rural all girls, all boys urban DEIS school to provide a cohesive view on the enactment of the CS curriculum in Ireland. Methods of data collection - This research fieldwork will occur from January 2022 to April in conjunction with the schools timetable for CS which is delivered to TY students [40 minute classes]. Semi structured interviews will be held with leaders in digital strategies, teachers and children's research advisory group (CRAG) within their Transition Year (TY) CS classroom over the course of 12 weeks. To gain a deeper insight into the spaces for engagement two qualitative questionnaires will be handed out amongst teachers and learners during this time. This research will adapt the design of the class and act upon the voices of the teachers and students, implementing suggested changes in the short term in an effort to enhance their experiences, engagement and success in the course through collaboration with CRAGs.

Methods of data analysis and interpretation - A deductive approach to thematic analysis will be applied which involves coming to the data with some preconceived themes (within the curriculum, school and classroom, the impact of learning environments, engaging pedagogy and experiential opportunities) that are expected to be reflected upon, based on the theory and existing knowledge from a literature review. Findings - Drawing on in-depth semi structured interviews, thematic analysis will expose the context of the current situation within schools and classrooms. The findings will highlight the significance of the teacher - learner relationship in the process of achieving agency. The findings will highlight themes present in the perceptions of the digital environment and reveal how teachers and learners can fully engage with and enact the CS Curriculum. The enactment of agency through the learning environment, engaging pedagogy and experiential opportunities offered will be discussed and recommendations will be made.. Research limitations/implications - The study concludes that there needs to be a new dialogue amongst stakeholders that moves beyond the pro/anti-digital world and empowers teachers to approach the digital environment with a more critical perspective allowing learners to achieve through the process of doing rather than producing. Originality/value - This research will deepen understanding of how teachers and learners respond to the challenges in the curriculum, developing pedagogical practices and spaces for engagement. With the unprecedented challenges of the Covid19 pandemic more evidence on the challenges of teaching approaches (LERO, 2020) in education is needed to support future teaching and learning decisions. In particular, there is little evidence on how learning environments and engaging pedagogical practices have developed in the context of achieving agency within teaching and learning.

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