BEYOND CHALKBOARD AND CLICKS: MAPPING TEACHERS’S DIGITAL READINESS UNDER NEP 2020

Abstract

The rapid digital transformation of education, strengthened by India’s 2020 education reform policy, has redefined the role of teachers as facilitators of technology-enabled learning. As a result, digital literacy has emerged as a core professional competency, becoming essential for effective pedagogy in contemporary classrooms. In this context, the present study investigates the digital readiness of pre-service and in-service teachers and explores its relationship with digital competencies and teaching readiness. To achieve this objective, a quantitative descriptive research design was employed, and data were collected from 100 respondents using a five-dimensional Digital Literacy Assessment scale. Subsequently, the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests. The findings reveal no significant difference in the overall level of digital literacy between the two groups, suggesting convergence in basic digital competencies. However, dimension-wise analysis indicates uneven development, with strengths in digital communication and cyber safety and persistent gaps in digital content creation and technology-integrated pedagogy. Significant differences in teaching readiness in favor of in-service teachers, underscoring the pedagogical value of professional experience. Moreover, a strong association between digital literacy and teaching readiness underscores digital competence as a pedagogical enabler rather than merely a technical skill. The study concludes that a shift from fragmented, operational training toward practice-embedded professional development, aligned with the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, is essential to bridge the gap between ‘clicking’ and ‘teaching’