Confidence Assessment in Implementing Personalized Learning Strategies among Primary School Teachers in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to: 1) Assess the overall level of primary school teachers’ confidence in implementing personalized learning strategies in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province; 2) Examine the relationship between teachers’ digital literacy and implementation confidence; 3) Determine whether teachers’ confidence differed according to selected teacher characteristics; and 4) Propose practical recommendations for policy and school improvement. A mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 286 valid questionnaires distributed to teachers in 10 public and private primary schools, and qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 teachers representing high, medium, and low confidence groups. The questionnaire included demographic items, 15 digital-literacy items, and 25 implementation-confidence items. Reliability and validity indicators were satisfactory (Cronbach’s α = 0.945; KMO = 0.913, p < .001). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, repeated-measures ANOVA, multiple linear regression, independent-samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA using SPSS 26.0, while interview data were coded thematically using NVivo 12. The findings indicated that: 1) Teachers’ overall implementation confidence was at an upper-medium level (M = 3.72, S.D. = 0.58), with students’ needs assessment showed the highest confidence (M = 3.85) and learning evaluation personalization showed the lowest (M = 3.58); 2) Digital literacy was significantly and positively associated with implementation confidence, and digital teaching design emerged as the strongest predictor; 3) Significant differences were found by age, teaching experience, educational background, and school nature respectively. Interview findings further showed that confidence was strengthened by peer observation, practical support, and digital pedagogical design, but constrained by assessment pressure, resource integration difficulty, and uneven organizational support; and 4) The study proposed that improving teachers’ design-oriented digital competence and aligning assessment reform with personalized learning were essential for deeper implementation of personalized learning in primary schools.