Digital Literacy and Teacher Readiness in Post-Pandemic Primary Education: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Abstrak

The abrupt transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical gaps in primary teachers’ digital literacy and pedagogical readiness. While substantial quantitative research has measured these constructs, the intricate mechanisms through which digital literacy components shape teacher readiness remain underexplored from an interpretive perspective. This study employed a qualitative grounded theory design to construct a structural model delineating the relationships among digital literacy dimensions and readiness constructs in Indonesian post-pandemic primary education. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 32 purposively sampled primary school teachers, 14 classroom observations, and analysis of school digital policy documents across six public and private schools in West Java. Constant comparative analysis, encompassing open, axial, and selective coding, generated a substantive theory comprising five core digital literacy categories—technological proficiency, information evaluation, digital content creation, cyber-safety awareness, and collaborative digital communication—and three readiness dimensions—cognitive preparedness, affective commitment, and pedagogical agility. The emergent structural model posits that technological proficiency and cyber-safety awareness serve as foundational enablers; digital content creation acts as a central mediator; collaborative communication amplifies pedagogical agility; and information evaluation moderates the translation of skills into cognitive preparedness. The model reveals virtuous and vicious cycles, where insufficient cyber-safety awareness suppresses content creation, undermining overall readiness. The findings offer a contextually grounded, testable framework for future confirmatory studies using structural equation modeling, and provide actionable insights for teacher professional development policy in Indonesia’s decentralized education system