Cybercrime Awareness Among Teacher Trainees as Digital Consumers: Investigating the Influence of Demographic Factors on Knowledge, Risk Perception, and Protective Practices

Abstract

The growing integration of digital technologies within teacher education has positioned teacher trainees in a dual role as prospective educators and active digital consumers. In this evolving digital environment, awareness of cybercrime—including its various forms, associated risks, and preventive practices—has become essential for protecting personal information and for fostering responsible online behaviour that future teachers are expected to model for learners. Recognizing the importance of demographic influences on digital awareness, the present study examines the extent to which selected demographic variables contribute to differences in cybercrime awareness among teacher trainees. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the investigation. The sample consisted of 150 pre-service teacher trainees drawn from selected teacher education institutions through simple random sampling, ensuring representation across gender and stream of study. Cybercrime awareness was assessed using the standardized Cybercrime Awareness Scale developed by Dr. S. Rajasekar (2023), which measures knowledge of cyber threats, perception of online risks, and adoption of protective digital practices.To analyse variations in awareness levels, two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed to examine the main and interaction effects of gender and academic stream on cybercrime awareness. The statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in awareness levels across gender groups or across different streams of study, nor was any significant interaction effect observed between these demographic variables. These findings suggest that cybercrime awareness among teacher trainees is relatively uniform across the examined categories, indicating the pervasive influence of digital engagement across demographic boundaries.