The integration of digital tools into teaching practice in sub-Saharan Africa faces significant infrastructural and pedagogical challenges. While mobile technology penetration is high, its effective use for core professional tasks like lesson planning remains under-explored. This study investigates the adoption and perceived impact of a mobile-based lesson planning application among secondary school teachers. It aims to identify key drivers, barriers, and the influence on pedagogical practice. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected via a survey of teachers. This informed the purposive sampling for subsequent qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to explore emergent themes in depth. Survey data indicated that 68% of users reported increased planning efficiency. Qualitative analysis revealed a central theme of 'contextual negotiation', where teachers adapted the tool's structured format to align with local classroom realities and resource constraints. Adoption is facilitated by perceived efficiency gains but mediated by teachers' need to adapt digital tools to existing pedagogical frameworks and material conditions. Successful integration is thus a process of contextualisation, not mere technical uptake. Developer training should emphasise flexible, adaptable design features. Educational policy should support communities of practice where teachers can share strategies for contextualising digital tools within local curricula. digital pedagogy, mobile learning, lesson planning, technology adoption, teacher professional development, Tanzania This paper provides novel empirical evidence on the process of 'contextual negotiation' as a critical mechanism for technology integration, moving beyond simplistic binary models of adoption or rejection.
Fatuma Mwinyi (Sun,) studied this question.