Abstract
Background: Developing a reading culture among elementary school students is important for supporting literacy development and meaningful learning in Indonesia. Digital learning media may help teachers to provide more engaging and contextual reading materials. Augmented reality (AR)- and virtual reality (VR)-based digital pop-up books offer a possible direction for instructional media development, but such development should be grounded in teachers’ perceived needs.
Aim: This study described elementary school teachers’ perceptions and instructional needs regarding AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books to support reading culture in elementary education.
Setting: The study involved 137 elementary school teachers from Pandeglang Regency, Indonesia.
Methods: This descriptive quantitative survey collected data through a 25-item structured questionnaire. The instrument was developed as a content-reviewed needs assessment tool covering seven dimensions: reading culture achievement, authenticity, technological integration, functionality, communicative learning, contextuality and assessment. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages and descriptive statistics.
Results: The mean agreement rate across the seven indicators was 85.14%. The highest agreement rates were found for technological integration and communicative learning, each at 88.00%, while the lowest agreement rate was for functionality at 80.00%.
Conclusion: The findings show that many teachers perceive the need for reading materials that are technologically integrated, communicative, contextual, authentic, functional and assessment-oriented.
Contribution: This study provides a descriptive needs assessment to inform the early development of AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books for elementary reading instruction. The findings represent teachers’ perceived needs, not evidence of media effectiveness. Further research should develop, validate and test the media in classroom settings.
Keywords: digital pop-up book; augmented reality; virtual reality; reading culture; primary school.
Introduction
Reading culture plays a crucial role in achieving the goals of national education. Cultivating literacy must begin at the elementary school level, as it can serve as a lifelong learning tool. Specifically, literacy in this context refers to reading and writing, which are fundamental rights of every individual and are essential throughout life. At the elementary education level, literacy movements serve as a fundamental medium for character development. The character traits cultivated through literacy initiatives include moral integrity and reading culture, ultimately fostering lifelong learning practices (Putro 2024). Literacy skills are expected to help students understand and apply learning materials in depth. Literacy skills aligned with students’ developmental stages can facilitate meaningful learning, helping them achieve learning objectives. Strengthening literacy in the learning process allows for the integration of various subject matters, thus contributing to the overall goal of national education. The essence of enhancing literacy is to foster a smart and enlightened nation, as stated in Law No. 20 of 2003 on the National Education System. The law declares that the goal of national education is to develop students’ potential to become individuals who are faithful and devoted to God Almighty, possess noble character, are healthy, knowledgeable, capable, creative, independent and responsible and democratic citizens (Law Number 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System 2003).
In the linguistic context, literacy not only develops proper grammar, punctuation and essay writing, but also encompasses a broader understanding, including all reading, writing and communication activities (Halik, Asykur & Mirwan 2022). The understanding of literacy is academically broader, encompassing reading and writing activities as well as how individuals communicate within society. A reading culture improves vocabulary and language proficiency, which are key drivers of effective social communication. Regular readers develop a richer lexical repertoire, allowing for clearer idea expression and meaningful interactions with peers and adults. However, amidst rapid technological advancements, only 44.56% of students utilised libraries or Community Reading Centres (Taman Bacaan Masyarakat [TBM]) throughout 2022. These data indicate that the reading culture among elementary school students remains low. Such factual evidence underscores the inadequacy of reading and writing literacy levels in Indonesia (Zalzabillah 2025). Therefore, national literacy requires holistic and digitally integrated solutions that are aligned with the demands of the modern era. According to the 2024 National Assessment of Minimum Competency for elementary students, only 61.53% met the minimum literacy threshold. In fact, most schools in Pandeglang Regency still fall under the ‘red category’, with only 42% of students achieving the minimum competency. This means that many students struggle to comprehend both explicit and implicit information in reading and writing activities, negatively affecting their overall academic performance (Setiawan & Munajah 2020). Consequently, addressing low literacy levels in elementary schools requires thorough problem analysis and needs assessment to ensure that literacy becomes a sustained habit among students. Mastery of linguistic foundations is essential so that future generations can express themselves properly and accurately (Munajah & Kilawati 2024).
An exploratory survey of 137 elementary teachers indicated that 70.8% struggled to foster a reading culture due to low student interest, while 79.4% faced challenges in preparing materials beyond textbooks. These findings align with research in Pandeglang Regency, which indicates that most current Indonesian language teaching materials are worksheet-based and do not yet meet the principles of meaningful learning. Teachers perceive a scarcity of resources that encourage the independent expression of ideas. Therefore, there is an urgent need for instructional materials adapted to students’ cultural backgrounds, readiness, interests and learning styles to facilitate effective contextual communication (Munajah, Sumantri & Yufiarti 2023).
In the modern context, digital integration offers a potential approach for providing meaningful instruction to create harmony between learning materials and technological advancement. The development and implementation of digital pop-up books leveraging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies may be relevant for addressing contemporary literacy learning needs. The proposed framework for AR- and VR-based pop-up books encompasses a digital reading resource featuring AR animations triggered through a dedicated application. Within this system, static illustrations ‘come to life’ as animated characters accompanied by audio and touch-based interactions. Table 1 presents the conceptual comparison between conventional textbooks and augmented reality- and virtual reality-based digital pop-up books.
| TABLE 1: Conceptual comparison between conventional textbooks and augmented reality- and virtual reality-based digital pop-up books. |
Contextual reading instruction within the Grade 5 Elementary Indonesian Language curriculum can be effectively facilitated through digital pop-up books. The pedagogical integration of AR and VR technologies, which deliver immersive three-dimensional media representations, enables learners to meaningfully connect academic content with authentic real-world contexts. In this digital learning ecosystem, educators require competencies in software-mediated instructional design to cultivate essential 21st-century skills: communication, critical thinking, creativity, innovation, problem-solving and collaboration (Nkosi 2024). Consequently, the actualisation of these transferable soft skills should be systematically embedded within literacy instruction mediated by digital pop-up books.
Encouraging literacy at the elementary level sets a strong foundation for meaningful, deep learning (Ghufron et al. 2022). Linguistic skills are urgently needed in elementary education, as they underpin all subjects within the curriculum (Fonseca & Arends 2024). This finding is supported by teacher surveys in Pandeglang, confirming the need for updated teaching materials to foster meaningful literacy instruction. Without foundational literacy, it is difficult to achieve meaningful learning. Deep learning in literacy is a pedagogical approach that integrates the intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical domains into real-life contexts. This meaningful learning experience invites students to understand, apply and reflect on the content joyfully and mindfully. The desired graduate profiles include faith, citizenship, creativity, independence, communication, health, collaboration and critical thinking.
Educational systems must prioritise the implementation of comprehensive teacher preparation programmes designed to ensure effective instructional delivery (Darling-Hammond 2020). Within the linguistic domain, educators must develop pedagogical frameworks that are responsive to reading culture, thereby fostering students’ linguistic awareness in language acquisition processes (Yaylali et al. 2025). Digital pop-up books represent a promising instructional innovation capable of enhancing reading culture through multiple mechanisms: stimulating reading interest, facilitating conceptual visualisation via AR and VR, strengthening reading comprehension, establishing emotional engagement with textual content and expanding the lexical repertoire. The attainment of these educational objectives is further supported by digital-based instructional materials, which have demonstrated efficacy in advancing students’ literacy competencies, including foundational reading literacy. Equipped with robust literacy skills, learners are better positioned to engage in critical thinking, conduct analytical reasoning and critically evaluate information sourced from diverse media (Krisdianti et al. 2025). Reading literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to comprehend texts. This competency entails the processing, analysis and comprehension of information after reading. In Indonesian language education, reading instruction can be implemented using digital pop-up books. Augmented reality- and virtual reality-based digital pop-up books may offer potential support for reading engagement by contextualising reading lessons within students’ real-life experiences; however, their effectiveness requires further classroom testing. Critical thinking is defined as an activity oriented towards the exploration of phenomena, questions or problems that form the basis for hypotheses and conclusions, ultimately yielding valid information (Mcguirk 2021). Digital pop-up books, as innovative alternatives to conventional textbooks, hold significant potential for enhancing reading proficiency by visualising folktales and local cultural values of Kudus in an interactive three-dimensional format. Furthermore, the multimodal integration of 3D visual elements, tactile interaction and auditory feedback (in digital implementations) aligns with the cognitive developmental characteristics of elementary school students operating in Piaget’s concrete operational stage. This alignment transforms reading from a perceived academic burden into an intrinsically motivating and cognitively engaging experience, thereby fostering sustained literacy development (Rahmayanti & Setiawan 2023).
Effective literacy instruction should employ a deep learning approach involving three core concepts: (1) meaningful, (2) mindful and (3) joyful learning. Deep learning can be achieved using this approach. In the current context, deep learning of literacy materials remains holistically integrated into students’ daily lives. In the 21st century, the development of education is faced with learning strategies based on technological innovation so that students can think critically as a basis for lifelong learning (Alessa 2025). The rapid acceleration of technological advancement necessitates the integration of digital platforms to ensure that instructional practices remain current with contemporary developments. Consequently, digital learning innovations require continuous development and refinement (Calderón-garrido & Rivera-vargas 2025).
For example, in a classroom setting, AR and VR technologies offer distinct multimodal pathways to support diverse learning preferences and cognitive needs. Through AR, learning content is presented through dual-modality representations: (1) a visually oriented pathway featuring three-dimensional animations with minimal text overlay to reduce cognitive load, and (2) an auditorily enhanced pathway that integrates narrated audio descriptions complemented by static illustrations to support auditory learners. Simultaneously, VR provides interactive and immersive functionality that allows for the contextualisation of narrative elements within an authentic, spatially based environment. In this AR-VR hybrid learning ecosystem, students exercise learner agency by selecting learning pathways that align with their individual preferences, styles and developmental needs. This adaptive design accommodates learner diversity and encourages self-regulated engagement, thereby promoting a deeper understanding and sustained motivation in reading learning. The implementation of AR and VR technology in learning can expand the traditional boundaries of classrooms and textbooks. The use of digital VR can facilitate instructional interactions between students and teachers (Sancho, Fernández-Arias & Vergara 2024). The implementation of AR enables students to explore three-dimensional objects, visualise abstract concepts and engage in educational gaming activities. This facilitates a more immersive learning experience that fosters critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving skill development among the students (Indahsari & Sumirat 2023). Virtual reality can present realistic learning situations without requiring students to visit the actual place. The substance of holistic learning is presented through VR (Rochmat et al. 2023). The actualisation of deep learning can be realised through VR applications. Through AR, deep experiences are achieved and are able to support tasks in various domain topics (Kuber, Alshathri & Komlodi 2024). Deep learning can be realised through VR applications. Through AR, deep experiences are achieved and can support tasks in various domains. An exemplary implementation of AR in elementary reading instruction involves students utilising AR-enabled applications to scan illustrations within folktales, such as the Indonesian legend ‘Legenda Danau Toba’ (The Legend of Lake Toba). Upon scanning, the application generates interactive three-dimensional holographic representations of narrative characters and spatial settings, which learners can manipulate, rotate and explore from multiple perspectives. This multimodal interaction facilitates embodied cognition by enabling students to contextualise textual descriptions within immersive, visually rich environments, thereby supporting deeper narrative comprehension, cultural empathy and improved inferential reasoning skills. Furthermore, the dynamic visualisation of story elements through AR scaffolds the transition from literal decoding to critical interpretation, aligning with the constructivist principles of active meaning-making in literacy development.
Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have increased educational coverage through e-learning and the use of various online platforms. Several platforms can be used to assist the teaching and learning processes, such as AR and VR (Chaudhari et al. 2025). This development in digital technology is appropriate for use as a deep learning facility. This is relevant to the current need for learning references, namely that digitally integrated learning is in line with students’ daily lives, which are already integrated with digital aspects (Soekarta et al. 2023).
The use of AR is indeed very helpful in increasing students’ learning motivation (Oktaviani et al. 2023). In an exemplary AR-enhanced reading intervention, students utilise applications such as Assemblr Edu or Quiver to scan classroom-based ‘literacy treasure map’ markers. Each activated marker triggers animated characters that present scaffolded reading challenges, including word pronunciation tasks, cloze-test sentence completion and comprehension questions. The system delivers immediate formative feedback through gamified elements (points, digital badges and visual progress dashboards), thereby reinforcing mastery learning, sustaining intrinsic motivation and promoting self-regulated engagement in literacy development by the students. Teachers, as learning facilitators in schools, especially in classrooms, need to ensure effective learning (Makgamatha 2022). This can happen through the integration of technology with learning, as technology-integrated pedagogy can create competent learning experiences (Svraka & Nagy 2024). Augmented reality technology facilitates the transformation of abstract instructional content, exemplified by reading comprehension activities centred on Indonesian folktales such as ‘Si Pitung’ into interactive three-dimensional visual models. This multimodal representation enhances learners’ conceptual understanding by rendering narrative elements, cultural contexts and spatial settings into manipulable, immersive formats, thereby supporting deeper textual engagement and meaningful knowledge construction in literacy education.
Pop-up books supported by deep learning digital technology foster holistic understanding and creative problem-solving (Fitrah et al. 2025). Digital technology has significantly transformed education, especially at the elementary school level. Teachers equipped with the necessary skills to integrate deep learning technology into literacy instruction will support modern education. This can happen because deep learning technology not only facilitates students’ access to digital information but also helps them develop digital literacy skills through personal and dynamic interactions. Higher student engagement in understanding deep learning technology allows for more engaging and relevant content delivery, thereby promoting greater student involvement in the learning process, especially in Indonesian language learning (Putri et al. 2024). The use of AR in innovative and prospective learning methods can help transform abstract concepts into concrete understanding, meeting modern educational needs. It is a key strategy for stimulating students’ interest in literacy and maximising knowledge transfer (Mas, Fakihiddin & Wijaya 2025). The integration of technology supports the implementation of learning tailored to individual student needs (Budhiarti, Mytra & Slow 2025). Technology serves as a medium to facilitate contextual learning. This aligns with the deep-learning approach currently implemented in Indonesia. Learning experiences can be contextualised through technological integration. Contextual learning is strongly emphasised in the deep learning approach. Elementary education must go beyond basic knowledge delivery; it must build students’ cognitive, social and emotional foundations. Traditional rote-based methods are inadequate for today’s diverse learning requirements. In Indonesia, deep learning is an educational approach that honours and realises a learning process characterised by consciousness, joy and meaning. Its implementation emphasises deep understanding, reflection and real-world application through three core elements: meaningful learning (connecting subject matter to real-life contexts), mindful learning (fostering full awareness) and joyful learning (creating a pleasant atmosphere for learning). Technology as a learning medium supports interactive and contextual instruction in accordance with the principles of the deep learning approach. The meaningful learning approach uses technology to connect learning materials with students’ experiences, such as through game-based simulations. Mindful learning is applied through adaptive quiz applications and real-time feedback to help students understand their progress. By integrating this digital pop-up book, the potential for dialogic interaction between teachers and students is fostered, consequently improving students’ critical thinking skills. These communicative activities encourage learners to actively express their perspectives through structured linguistic expressions and rigorous analyses of established discussion topics (Cano & Sans 2025).
Based on the above background, this study focused on a descriptive survey of elementary school teachers in Pandeglang Regency. The study did not examine the effectiveness of AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books. Instead, it aimed to map teachers’ perceptions and instructional needs as an initial step towards developing a product. Accordingly, the following research questions were formulated:
- What literacy material needs do elementary school teachers identify in relation to reading-culture instruction?
- How do teachers perceive current reading instructional materials in terms of authenticity, technological integration, functionality, communicative learning, contextual relevance and assessment?
- To what extent do teachers agree with the need to develop AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books as needs-based instructional media for elementary reading instruction?
Research methods and design
Method
This study employed a descriptive quantitative survey design to map elementary school teachers’ perceptions and instructional needs regarding the development of AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books to foster a reading culture in primary education. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics. Preliminary observations and informal teacher discussions were conducted exclusively for instrument development and contextual validation, ensuring item relevance to the instructional setting of elementary schools in the Pandeglang Regency. These activities were not treated as qualitative data collection; therefore, the study was methodologically classified as a purely quantitative design and not as mixed-methods research.
Research design
This study used a descriptive quantitative survey design to describe elementary school teachers’ perceptions and instructional needs regarding AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books. The survey was not designed to test the effectiveness of media or establish causal relationships. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using frequencies, percentages and descriptive statistics. The questionnaire focused on seven dimensions of needs assessment: reading culture achievement, authenticity, technological integration, functionality, communicative learning, contextuality and assessment. The 25 questionnaire items were grouped into seven dimensions. The seven indicators reported in the findings represent aggregated dimensions, not individual questionnaire items or statistically validated constructs. The study involved 137 elementary school teachers from Pandeglang Regency. Of these respondents, 62 teachers (45.3%) were male, and 75 teachers (54.7%) were female. In terms of teaching experience, 45 teachers (32.8%) had 2–5 years of experience, 52 teachers (38.0%) had 6–10 years of experience, and 40 teachers (29.2%) had more than 10 years of experience. The participants’ characteristics are presented in Table 2.
| TABLE 2: Participants’ characteristics (N = 137). |
Participants
The questionnaire sample consisted of 137 elementary school teachers in Pandeglang Regency, and the survey was conducted in January 2025. Respondents were selected using purposive sampling methods. The inclusion criteria were as follows: elementary school teachers who were actively teaching had experience in reading or Indonesian language instruction and were willing to participate in the survey. Participation was voluntary, and respondents were informed of the purpose of the study before completing the questionnaire.
Ethical considerations
Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee, Universitas Trilogi (No. 55/General/LPPM/VIII/2025). Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants involved in the study.
Results
The findings of this study are descriptive and should not be interpreted as statistically significant. This study did not examine the effectiveness of AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books on students’ reading outcomes. Instead, it aimed to describe teachers’ perceptions and instructional needs regarding the development of AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books for elementary reading instruction.
The questionnaire was developed as a descriptive needs assessment instrument. The instrument was prepared based on seven dimensions of literacy instructional material development: reading culture achievement, authenticity, technological integration, functionality, communicative learning, contextuality and assessment. These dimensions were derived from the theoretical basis of reading culture instruction, instructional material development, digital learning media and AR- and VR-supported learning.
The instrument was reviewed using a content validation process. Experts in elementary education, literacy instruction and educational technology examined the relevance, clarity and alignment of the questionnaire items with the study objectives. Three experts reviewed the questionnaires before data collection. Their feedback was used to revise unclear wording and ensure the relevance of each item to the seven needs assessment dimensions. This process ensured that the items reflected the instructional context of elementary schools and the purpose of the needs assessment.
Because the questionnaire used dichotomous response options (agree and disagree), Pearson’s product-moment correlation was not used to claim construct validity. The study also did not claim factor-based construct validity because a factor analysis was not conducted. Therefore, the instrument was treated as a content-validated needs assessment tool rather than a psychometric scale. The results are presented using frequencies and percentages to describe the distribution of the teachers’ responses.
Survey data were collected from 137 elementary school teachers in Pandeglang Regency in January 2025. The results showed that most teachers agreed that current literacy instructional materials require improvement. Specifically, 84.0% of respondents agreed that current instructional efforts had not optimally fostered a reading culture. A total of 85.0% of the respondents agreed that existing reading literacy materials lacked authenticity. Furthermore, 88.0% agreed that instructional materials were not holistically integrated with technology, while 80.0% agreed that current materials did not achieve the functionality principle in supporting reading literacy.
The findings also indicated that 88.0% of teachers agreed that existing materials did not sufficiently promote communicative learning in their classes. In addition, 85.0% agreed that current materials did not adequately meet the contextual principle, and 86.0% agreed that reading literacy assessment had not fully reflected the principles of the deep learning assessment. Overall, the average agreement rate across the seven indicators was 85.14%, and the average disagreement rate was 14.86%. These results indicate a strong descriptive pattern of teacher agreement regarding the need to develop AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books as needs-based instructional media for elementary reading instruction.
Seven indicators were used to describe teachers’ perceptions of current literacy instructional materials and the need for AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books. These indicators cover reading culture achievement, authenticity, technological integration, functionality, communicative learning, contextuality and assessment. In this study, the indicators were not treated as statistically validated constructs, but as dimensions of a descriptive needs assessment.
Descriptive statistics show that the mean agreement rate across the seven indicators was 85.14%, with a median of 85.00%. The lowest agreement rate was for the functionality indicator (80.00%), while the highest agreement rates were for technological integration and communicative learning (88.00% each). The range of 8.00% and the standard deviation of 2.85% indicate that teachers’ agreement was relatively consistent across the seven indicators. These findings describe the response pattern within the sample and should not be interpreted as evidence of statistical significance, causal effects or media effectiveness.
The results indicate that teachers identified several areas of need in elementary reading instruction. The high agreement rates for technological integration and communicative learning suggest that many teachers perceive current reading materials as insufficiently integrated with technology and less supportive of communicative learning activities. The assessment indicator also showed a high agreement rate of 86%, indicating that teachers perceived a need for assessment practices that better support meaningful literacy learning.
The other indicators also showed high agreement. A total of 85% of respondents agreed that existing materials lacked authenticity, and 85% agreed that current materials did not adequately meet the contextual principles. These findings suggest that teachers perceive a need for reading materials that are more closely connected to students’ real-life contexts and local learning environments. The functionality indicator received the lowest agreement rate, at 80%, but still showed that most teachers viewed current materials as insufficiently functional in supporting reading culture. Teachers’ agreement on literacy instructional material needs and augmented reality- and virtual reality-based digital pop-up book development is presented in Table 3.
| TABLE 3: Teachers’ agreement on literacy instructional material needs and augmented reality- and virtual reality-based digital pop-up book development. |
Overall, these descriptive findings suggest that AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books may be considered a relevant direction for further product development. However, the findings should be interpreted as teachers’ perceived needs, not as evidence of media effectiveness. Further research is needed to develop, validate and test instructional media in classroom settings. The results of the descriptive statistical analysis are presented in Table 4.
| TABLE 4: Descriptive statistics of teacher perception survey (N = 137). |
Discussion
The findings answer the three research questions by showing that teachers identified needs related to literacy materials, perceived weaknesses in current instructional materials and expressed high agreement with the need for further AR- and VR-based digital pop-up book development:
- Empirical Foundation for Product Development: The descriptive survey data from 137 elementary school teachers in Pandeglang Regency showed an average agreement rate of 85.14% on the need to improve reading instructional materials. This finding suggests that many teachers perceive AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books as a relevant direction for product development. However, the results should be interpreted as a descriptive pattern of perceived need, not as evidence of statistical significance, causal effect or media effectiveness.
- Suboptimal Achievement of a Reading Culture: Eighty-four per cent of teachers agreed that current teaching efforts have not optimally fostered a reading culture. This response indicates that many teachers perceive a gap between existing reading practices and the expected development of a reading culture in elementary schools. This finding is consistent with broader concerns about reading literacy, including the PISA 2022 report (OECD 2023), which stated that reading skills need to be culturally enhanced in schools.
- Insufficient Authenticity of Reading Instructional Materials: A total of 85% of respondents agreed that existing literacy materials were inauthentic. In this study, authenticity refers to the perceived connection between reading materials, students’ real-life experiences and the local learning environment. This finding indicates that teachers perceive the need for materials that are more relevant to students’ contexts, including local stories, familiar situations and meaningful reading activities.
- Insufficient Integration of Technology in Reading Instruction: The highest agreement rate (88%) was observed for the technological integration indicator. This suggests that many teachers perceive current reading materials as insufficiently integrated with digital technology. Augmented reality and VR may be explored as possible design elements in future media development, but their instructional value must be examined through prototype validation and classroom testing.
- Instructional Materials Functionality: The functionality indicator received the lowest agreement rate at 80%, although most respondents still agreed that current materials were not sufficiently functional in supporting reading culture. This suggests a perceived need for reading materials that are easier to use, visually supportive and aligned with classroom activities. It does not demonstrate that AR and VR media will automatically improve literacy outcomes.
- Communicative Learning: A total of 88% of respondents agreed that current reading materials did not sufficiently promote communicative learning. This finding suggests that teachers perceive the need for materials that support discussion, interpretation and interaction during reading instruction. Future AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books should consider communicative features, but such features require pedagogical validation before implementation.
- Contextual Principle: A total of 85% of respondents agreed that current reading materials did not adequately meet the contextual principles. This response indicates that teachers perceive a need for reading materials connected to students’ daily lives, local environment and learning characteristics. Therefore, contextual content should be considered in future product designs.
- Assessment: A total of 86% of respondents agreed that the reading literacy assessment had not fully reflected deeper literacy learning. This finding suggests a perceived need for assessment practices that more meaningfully capture comprehension, interpretation, reflection and reading engagement. Future media development may include formative assessment features, but these features should be validated before being used to measure students’ literacy achievement.
Conclusion
This descriptive survey found that most elementary school teachers in Pandeglang Regency agreed that current reading instructional materials require improvement in terms of technological integration, communicative learning, contextuality, authenticity, functionality and assessment. The mean agreement rate across the seven indicators was 85.14%, with the highest agreement rates in technological integration and communicative learning, each at 88.00%.
These findings suggest that AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books may be considered a relevant direction for further instructional media development. However, the results represent teachers’ perceived needs and should not be interpreted as evidence of statistical significance, causal effect or media effectiveness.
Further research is needed to develop a prototype, validate its content and usability and test its effects on students’ reading culture and outcomes in classroom settings.
Limitations and suggestions for future research
This study had several limitations. Firstly, it involved only elementary school teachers in Pandeglang Regency, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other regions. Secondly, the study used self-reported questionnaire data; therefore, the responses may have been influenced by social desirability or respondents’ subjective judgements. Thirdly, the study did not measure students’ reading outcomes or test the effectiveness of AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books in classroom settings. Fourthly, this study did not examine differences in school technology access, internet connectivity or device availability in depth. Fifthly, this study focused on reading instruction in elementary education and may not directly apply to other subjects or grade levels.
Future research should involve larger and more diverse samples from different regions of the world. Qualitative interviews or a sequential explanatory design may also be used to explore teachers’ reasons for their survey responses in greater depth. Subsequent studies should develop AR- and VR-based digital pop-up book prototypes, conduct expert validation and usability testing and examine their effects through experimental, quasi-experimental or longitudinal classroom research. Future work should also include students, parents, school leaders and policymakers to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of implementation readiness and the barriers to it.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude to all the parties involved in the preparation of this research article. Special appreciation is extended to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology [Kemdiktisaintek] for the financial support provided through the 2025 Research Grant. The authors also acknowledge Trilogi University for fostering a supportive environment that motivates and enables lecturers to engage in research and in scholarly writing. The authors would like to thank the research team for their steadfast collaboration in executing this study. Furthermore, the authors thank the Regional Education Office and elementary schools in Pandeglang Regency for their assistance and cooperation throughout the research process. Above all, the authors convey their deepest gratitude to the participating teachers, whose cooperation was instrumental in generating findings regarding the perceived needs related to the possible development of AR- and VR-based digital pop-up books for elementary reading instruction. It is hoped that this research will contribute meaningfully to the advancement of literacy education and the integration of immersive technologies in learning contexts.
Competing interest
The author reported that they received funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology [Kemdiktisaintek], which may be affected by the research reported in the enclosed publication. The author has disclosed those interests fully and has implemented an approved plan for managing any potential conflicts arising from their involvement. The terms of these funding arrangements have been reviewed and approved by the affiliated University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.
CRediT authorship contribution
Robiatul Munajah: Conceptualisation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualisation, Writing – original draft and Writing – review & editing. Andi Kilawati: Methodology, Resources, Writing – original draft and Writing – review & editing. Budi Arifitama: Resources and Validation. Umar A. Faruq: Resources and Validation. Kiki Budiana: Conceptualisation, Data curation, Resources and Validation. All authors reviewed the article, contributed to the discussion of results, approved the final version for submission and publication and take responsibility for the integrity of its findings.
Funding information
Special appreciation is extended to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology [Kemdiktisaintek] for the financial support provided through the 2025 Research Grant: 124/C3/DT.05.00/PL/2025.
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, Robiatul Munajah.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and are the product of professional research. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated institution, funder, agency, or that of the publisher. The authors are responsible for this article’s results, findings, and content.
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