This article presents a pragmatic study that explored academics’ experiences of using digital learning environments to teach agricultural sciences at a South African historically disadvantaged university. The study aimed to investigate challenges faced in integrating technology and proposes a contextually responsive approach to digital platform adoption in rural university settings. A mixed methods approach was adopted, involving reflective activities, one-on-one semi-structured interviews, focus-group discussion, and document analysis. Triangulation enhanced credibility through classroom observations and quantitative data collection. Two main themes emerged: pedagogical effectiveness, highlighting efforts to align digital tools with academic standards, and institutional culture, highlighting cultural norms, social relationships, and contextual realities on academics’ experiences. Using UTAUT2 model, findings revealed that while academics recognised the potential benefits of using prescribed digital platforms, they often customise their teaching with casual/informal platforms to reflect their personal identities and meet the needs of agricultural science modules. The study introduces a Contextually Adaptive Tech-Enhanced Pedagogy model, designed to improve the personalisation and quality within digital learning environments at historically disadvantaged higher education institutions. This study contributes to the growing discussion on contextually adaptive digital teaching practices, offering insights for inclusive and transformative teaching experiences in agricultural sciences. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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