Pre-service Teachers’ Digital Leadership Perceptions and Cybersecurity Responsibility: Evaluating A Curriculum Intervention in Resource-Constrained Contexts

Recent global digital transformations in education have rapidly shifted the focus toward pre-service teachers' roles as digital citizens. Within resource-constrained South African institutions, digital risks are intensified by insecure personal devices. The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a focused curriculum intervention to strengthen cybersecurity awareness and perceptions of digital leadership among pre-service teachers through a structured 12-hour, four-module curriculum. This mixed-methods study employed a pre-test/post-test design with 470 pre-service teachers from two South African universities, using a sequential data-collection procedure integrated into the analytical phase. Quantitative data were gathered using the Cybersecurity Awareness Knowledge Test and the Teacher Digital Leadership Perception Scale. Qualitative data from 30 semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Significant, large-magnitude improvements were observed for cybersecurity knowledge (pre: M=11.47, post: M=19.63, t(469)=34.00, p<0.001, d=2.34) and digital leadership perceptions (pre: M=52.31, post: M=71.28, t(469)=27.90, p<0.001, d=1.86). Qualitative themes highlighted increased risk recognition, enhanced professional self-efficacy, and a strong sense of community responsibility. However, structural constraints moderate the prospective translation of these perceptions into classroom practice. The study concludes that while the intervention significantly enhances baseline knowledge and responsibility dispositions, systemic resource deficits must be addressed to support long-term implementation.