Mapping students' digital political literacy: implications for strengthening civic reasoning in Pancasila education

Abstract

This study examines political literacy among students at senior high school in the digital era across three dimensions: political knowledge, political skills, and ethical political attitudes, while exploring Pancasila Education’s role in strengthening civic reasoning. A convergent mixed-methods design involved 82 students at SMA Negeri 4 Makassar completing surveys and objective test, complemented by semi-structured interviews with students and teachers. Findings show that 71.95% had low political knowledge (M=63.37; SD=21.97), whereas political skills (70.1%) and ethical political attitudes (64.5%) were classified as high. Bias/Framing identification achieved the highest score (72.5%), while information verification scored the lowest (66.5%). Qualitative findings indicate that social media is students’ primary source of informal political learning, but exposure is not matched by adequate information verification skill or openness to differing perspectives. Strengthening civic reasoning therefore requires integrating critical, reflective, and participatory approaches into the Pancasila Education to promote more informed and ethical political engagement.