As children’s digital lives become increasingly complex, there is a growing need to explore how cybersecurity education can be introduced in primary schools in ways that move beyond narrow technical instruction and engage with the ethical, behavioural and social dimensions of online security. While cybersecurity has not traditionally been foregrounded in primary education, building awareness and good habits as early as possible is increasingly important as children encounter networked technologies from a young age. In this context, cybersecurity education can support digital resilience, helping children participate in digital environments in informed, critical and responsible ways. The SECURE initiative (Strengthening Education for Cybersecurity: Uniting Resilience and Expertise), funded by the Research Ireland COALESCE Research Fund, responds by supporting teachers to adapt and enact cybersecurity education in developmentally appropriate and pedagogically meaningful ways.

This paper focuses on the teacher professional development dimension of SECURE and examines how a design-based approach can support teachers in embedding cybersecurity education across primary classrooms and the primary curriculum. The study is informed by design-based research and sociocultural perspectives on teacher learning, and is shaped by adaptive expertise and expansive learning. Professional development is understood as an iterative and situated process through which teachers develop knowledge through cycles of interpretation, design, enactment, feedback and refinement. Teachers are positioned as co-designers of learning who work collaboratively with peers, researchers, cybersecurity professionals and government agencies to create context-responsive units of learning. This is particularly important in cybersecurity, where teachers may be navigating emerging content and where effective practice requires technical, ethical and pedagogical considerations to be brought together.

The SECURE initiative promotes a holistic understanding of cybersecurity education and explores opportunities to teach about cybersecurity as a natural part of the primary curriculum rather than as an isolated topic. While codes, ciphers and encryption may provide accessible entry points, the project extends beyond purely technical content to include dimensions such as personal data protection, cyber hygiene, resilience, social engineering, misinformation, digital ethics, critical thinking and digital agency. Teachers draw on open-access resources as flexible stimuli for co-design, enabling them to shape learning experiences relevant to children’s everyday digital lives while remaining responsive to primary classroom realities.

The paper asks: How does participation in a design-based, community-supported professional learning process shape teachers’ confidence, pedagogical decision-making and enactment of cybersecurity education in primary school classrooms? To address this question, the paper foregrounds teacher-focused data generated across the initiative, including teacher surveys, teacher focus groups, observations of community of practice sessions, and teacher feedback on resources, classroom enactment and student engagement. Together, these data provide insight into how teachers make sense of cybersecurity as a curricular and pedagogical area, how they negotiate uncertainty in an emerging field, and how professional learning is mediated through collaborative cycles of design, dialogue and reflection.

Findings suggest that the design-based structure of SECURE creates productive conditions for teacher professional learning. First, it supports teachers in developing broader understandings of cybersecurity as a matter of online security, ethics, resilience and agency rather than simply technical knowledge. Second, the community of practice model enables teachers to test, adapt and refine learning in dialogue with peers and external partners, including cybersecurity professionals and government agencies. Third, structured opportunities for observation, feedback and reflection strengthen teacher agency by positioning teachers as active designers of digital learning.

This paper contributes to discussions in digital learning professional development by showing how a design-based model can support teachers to engage confidently with cybersecurity education in primary schools. It offers a practice-based account of how collaborative inquiry, pedagogical design and teacher agency can be brought together to build capacity for cybersecurity education in practice.

The COVID-19 lockdown (CLP) disrupted education, shifting learning online, a shift that was particularly challenging for rural schools in India. However, over the duration of the CLP, a range of digital technology-enabled teaching strategies (TETS) were introduced into schools. However, the sustainability of these strategies remains largely unexplored. Most global studies focus on technology use in higher education or specific teaching subjects; consequently, the sustainability of TETS in rural schools is largely unexplored. To address this gap, this qualitative case study examined the sustained use of TETS in a rural district of Maharashtra, India, after the CLP. Specifically, it explores technology use among teachers in upper primary grades (grades 5–8; 11-14 age group) and secondary grades (grades 9–10; 15-16 age group).

Research Question: In what ways did upper primary teachers (UPTs) and secondary teachers (SETs) continue to use digital technologies and TETS, and what barriers (external and internal) did they perceive in using TETS in the post-CLP

Method: A qualitative case study was employed. Case studies are valuable for examining how and why phenomena occur, especially in real-life contexts (Yin, 2009), enabling an in-depth, context-rich understanding of contemporary practices through multiple data sources. (Creswell, 2014; Patton, 2015). Semi-structured interviews with 35 UPT and 35 SET were conducted in October 2024 (post-CLP) and analysed using inductive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step method. Interview and class observation data were translated from Marathi to English, reviewed, coded, and thematically grouped using MAXQDA, ensuring anonymity and accuracy.

Based on interview findings, observations were subsequently conducted on the classroom practice of the four teachers, who reported substantial use of TETS, and on their availability during the visit of the researcher in their geographical cluster. Teachers consented and added the researcher to their classroom WhatsApp groups; only these were observed, including 2 UPT and 2 SET groups over 5 months. (November 2024 to March 2025). WhatsApp group data were analysed by retrieving chat history, organising it monthly, and categorising messages by sender, type, and frequency to identify interaction patterns. Data were analysed using a convergent design without manipulation; reflexivity, analytic distance, co-author discussions, and triangulation ensured transparency and credibility. (Miles et al., 2014; Saldaña, 2021).

Findings: In the Post-CLP, TETS was evident in teaching and learning. The most sustained technologies were WhatsApp, YouTube, and the government-initiated DIKSHA application, which provided resources for teachers, students, and parents. UPTs used WhatsApp mainly for parent communication and administrative document collection, while SETs used it for student interaction, sharing PDFs, and handling administrative tasks. In addition, teachers widely used the YouTube videos and DIKSHA application to access curriculum-based digital content that supplemented face-to-face classroom instruction.

Post-CLP, the government deployed digital whiteboards in schools, which SETs used to display diagrams and animations. Because the boards were predominantly installed in secondary classes, it is not surprising that UPTs used them less.

Both UPT and SET reported similar external barriers to TETS, including poor internet connectivity, limited school Wi-Fi, irregular electricity, and limited formal training in using advanced digital tools, such as digital boards. Internal barriers included fear of using digital technologies, concerns about students misusing smartphones, and lower interest among a few teachers nearing retirement.

Despite barriers, many teachers who were previously unfamiliar or uncomfortable with digital technologies reported increased confidence in independently learning and using new tools after CLP. Teachers felt that technology saved time, reduced workload, and improved students’ learning. Post-CLP digital technology use reflects TETS evolving from an emergency response into a core subject teaching tool. The state should ensure equitable access and strengthen teachers’ digital pedagogy skills.

This systematic literature review examines how digital technology influences student well-being and the implications for teacher professional development, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines to ensure rigour and transparency. Six databases, including ScienceDirect, ERIC, and Scopus, were searched using a PICOS framework focusing on students and educators, digital well-being interventions, and cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioural outcomes. From 474 initial records, 50 peer-reviewed empirical studies (2020–2025) met the inclusion criteria after multi-stage screening in Covidence, with an inter-rater reliability of κ = 0.76. Thematic synthesis identified both negative impacts, such as anxiety, sleep disruption, attention difficulties, and academic decline, and positive outcomes, including emotional coping, resilience-building, and informal learning. Effective school-based interventions ranged from curriculum-integrated programmes to mindfulness, screen-reduction initiatives, and culturally adapted approaches, yet implementation remains inconsistent. Major barriers include limited teacher training, weak measurement tools, policy fragmentation, and digital inequality. The review concludes that embedding digital well-being within sustained, evidence-informed teacher professional development is essential for equipping educators to address students’ evolving digital experiences and to implement whole-school digital well-being strategies.