Pancasila-based hybrid learning revitalization and digital citizenship character development in Indonesian post-pandemic higher education

This study examines the relationship between Pancasila-based hybrid learning revitalization and observed improvements in digital citizenship character in Indonesian post-pandemic higher education. The consolidation of post-pandemic hybrid learning has raised concerns about students’ digital citizenship development, particularly in collectivist societies where the dominant digital citizenship education (DCE) framework—largely rooted in Western individualism—offers limited cultural resonance. To address this gap, this study develops and provides preliminary mixed-methods evidence for a Pancasila-Based Hybrid Learning Revitalization Model that integrates Indonesia’s fundamental cultural philosophy with the pedagogical principles of Heutagogy, Peeragogy, and Cybergogy (H-P-C) in a hybrid learning environment. Using a single-group sequential explanatory mixed-methods design (pre-test/post-test, without a control condition) with 393 undergraduate students from one institution (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia), the study observed a moderate to large improvement in digital citizenship character scores (Cohen’s d = 0.585 [95% CI 0.445, 0.725], p < 0.001). For descriptive reference only, this observed effect size is numerically higher than published benchmarks for civic attitudes (d = 0.33; [ 2 ]) and civic knowledge (d = 0.41 [ 33 ]), however, direct comparability is substantially limited by differences in study design, cultural context, instruments, and the absence of a control condition in the current study. Qualitative analysis identified emerging indicators suggesting possible early signs of digital habitus formation as a plausible interpretive mechanism through which abstract values may be gradually internalized as digital dispositions (e.g., digital mutual cooperation). This study proposes a Glocal Digital Citizenship Framework and develops a Pancasila–H-P-C Hybrid Framework, which synthesizes cultural values, pedagogical mechanisms, and technological affordances into an integrated explanatory model. These findings are consistent with the perspective of educational technology as a culturally embedded medium rather than a neutral tool. This study contributes to the study of Education and Information Technology by offering a preliminary, institution-specific framework—grounded in mixed-methods evidence from a single institution—that can inform the integration of cultural values into pedagogical and technological design, offering concrete implications for instructional designers, institutional policymakers, and teacher educators aiming to cultivate ethically grounded digital citizens.