Empowering Educators through Technology Integration: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study

Addressing the persistent gap in digital competence among educators in underserved Philippine school contexts, this study examined the impact of a localized training intervention called TEACH-IT (Transforming Education and Creating Holistic Innovative Teaching). While national frameworks promote ICT integration, many rural teachers lack structured, context-relevant digital training. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of TEACH-IT in improving digital proficiency and exploring how teachers internalized and applied what they learned. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the study involved two phases: a quantitative pretest-post test design with 18 teachers, and a qualitative phenomenological inquiry with six purposively selected participants. Quantitative results indicated a statistically significant improvement in digital competence scores (W = 18.0, p = .018), with participants advancing from “Developing” to “Competent” levels. Thematic analysis of interview data revealed eight interconnected themes, including practical tool integration, increased student engagement, peer collaboration, and instructional confidence, as well as barriers such as time constraints and device shortages. The integration of findings showed that measurable gains were supported by meaningful experiential change, emphasizing the program’s effectiveness in real classroom contexts. The study concludes that modular, experiential, and peer-supported training models can effectively address digital inequities and foster sustainable pedagogical transformation. These findings have important implications for education policy, teacher professional development, and future research focused on digital equity and context-sensitive ICT integration in low-resource environments.