Teacher Readiness and Digital Competence for Islamic Education in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The rapid advancement of technology has transformed the educational landscape, requiring teachers not only to master subject content but also to integrate digital resources effectively in their teaching practices. Islamic Religious Education (IRE) teachers face a double demand: they must become digitally competent while preserving the moral and spiritual mission of their subject. This study aims to examine the readiness and digital competence of IRE teachers in utilizing digital tools and to identify the challenges and opportunities that shape their practice. The study employed a qualitative descriptive design. Participants were IRE teachers at primary and secondary schools selected through purposive sampling until data saturation was reached. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide, a classroom observation sheet, and a document analysis checklist, and were analysed thematically following Braun and Clarke, with credibility ensured through triangulation, member checking, and peer debriefing. The findings show that teacher readiness is dynamic and shaped by personal confidence, generational differences, and institutional culture; digital competence is uneven, being strong in communication tools but weak in learning management systems and digital assessment; effective integration occurs when technology complements, rather than replaces, the teacher–student relationship (ta'dib); and the main barriers are infrastructure, uneven digital literacy, and the difficulty of curating authentic online Islamic content. This study contributes a value-integrated reading of TPACK and DigCompEdu for IRE that positions ethical-spiritual discernment as a core dimension of digital competence, and it offers a basis for designing continuous and differentiated professional development for IRE teachers.