Teacher Professional Development for Digital Education Reform: A Mixed-Methods Study of Digital-AI Literacy Enactment in Resource-Constrained Tanzanian STEM Classrooms

Abstract

Digital transformation policies increasingly position teachers as central agents of educational reform, yet how professional development translates into classroom practice in resource-constrained contexts remains underexplored. Drawing on a sociomaterial perspective informed by Actor-Network Theory, this study examines how teacher capabilities and institutional and infrastructural conditions are associated with the enactment of Digital-AI literacy among STEM teachers who participated in a structured China-Africa professional development program. Using survey data from 163 teachers and explanatory qualitative interviews (n = 12), hierarchical regression and mediation analyses were conducted. Results indicate that human capability (digital skills, self-efficacy, and motivation) is the primary driver of digital classroom practice (β = .57, p < .001). At the same time, material and institutional supports exert a smaller but significant effect (β = .19, p = .003). Digital self-efficacy partially mediates the relationship between digital skills and practice (indirect β = .20, p < .001). The non-significant interaction between human capability and contextual conditions suggests resilient enactment across varying resource levels. Qualitative insights illustrate how teachers adaptively negotiate infrastructural and institutional constraints to sustain digital practice. These findings highlight the importance of policy-aligned professional development and institutional support in enabling teachers to implement digital education reforms effectively in low-resource STEM classrooms.