Meaning-making and literary literacy in digital classrooms: Student engagement with local literature

Literature learning in digital classrooms presents opportunities and challenges for the development of literary literacy and student engagement. This study aims to explore students’ literary literacy and engagement and understand their meaning-making processes when interacting with local literature in digital literature learning. The study employed a mixed methods approach with an explanatory sequential design.  Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires administered to 78 eighth-grade students at SMP Negeri 2 Dompu between March and May 2025 to measure literary literacy, student engagement, and perceptions of local literature. Qualitative data were obtained through interviews, students’ digital written responses, and classroom observations, which were analyzed to elaborate the quantitative findings. The results indicate that students’ literary literacy and engagement are at moderate to high levels, with affective engagement being the most dominant dimension, while critical reflection and cognitive engagement are limited. Qualitative findings reveal that the depth of students’ meaning-making of local literature is correlated with their engagement levels and influenced by pedagogical design and multiliteracies practices within the digital classroom. The study highlights integrating local literature and reflective instructional design to enhance literary literacy in digital learning contexts.