Digital Literacy and Perception of Inclusive Education of Preservice Teachers at Indonesian Universities

Digital literacy and inclusive education have emerged as new areas of research as a result of advancements in technology and the need for diverse learning environments. In this chapter, we examine the correlation between improved digital literacy skills and inclusive education practices among preservice teachers across Indonesian universities. Adopting a mixed-methods design, we administered an online survey to 604 preservice teachers, assessing their familiarity and knowledge of information and media literacy. This was supplemented by the use of DigComp and SACIE-R as the foundation for and understanding of the perceptions of preservice teachers with regards to inclusive education. The findings show a predictable and positive correlation between improved digital literacy skills and inclusive education practices. New themes, such as hands-on digital literacy experiences in teacher education and the significance of digital competence in enhancing the teaching process, emerged from our study. Despite its narrow geographic scope and demographic scale, the study shows that there is the need for curriculum reforms in teacher education in Indonesia to include digital literacy. This will enable preservice teachers to possess digital competencies, guaranteeing their readiness to address the varied needs of their diverse student populations in an ever more digitised society.