Technology-Enhanced Learning in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Practices, Challenges, and Strategies for Equitable Digital Transformation

This systematic literature review investigates Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) in the South African higher education sector, with a promise for equal digital transformation between urban and rural institutions. Drawing on 72 studies all peer-reviewed and through the PRISMA framework, the review synthesises evidence on adoption, challenges, and interventions in terms of TEL. The Technology Acceptance Model, therefore, informs the analysis, focusing on factors affecting user interaction and institutional acceptance. Using thematic analysis, the study discloses that Learning Management Systems were widely used, mobile platforms, and blended learning models but that infrastructural, digital literacy, and policy misalignments persisted. Rural universities experience the difficult scenario of connectivity and under-resourced support structures. Key enablers for TEL are inclusive design, staff development coupled with low-tech implementation. A coordinated institutional intervention framework is required, as advocated by this study, to promote sustainable and context-sensitive digital learning and further bridge the divide in higher education.