Navigating multiple crises: Mobile learning adoption for chemistry education in post-Soviet Ukraine

Maintaining educational continuity during armed conflict demands resources that traditional classroom systems cannot reliably provide. In Ukraine, where military conflict since 2014 and a full-scale invasion since 2022 have compounded a decades-long post-Soviet educational transformation, mobile technologies have shifted from a desirable classroom supplement to, in many regions, the only available means of instruction. This mixed-methods study examines mobile learning adoption for chemistry education through the development of a Ukrainian-language application for teaching inorganic compounds and a survey of 30 chemistry teachers (October 2023). The small, purposively recruited sample is the study’s principal limitation: the findings are exploratory and indicative rather than statistically generalizable, but they provide rich qualitative insight alongside descriptive quantitative patterns. Despite universal smartphone ownership (100%; 87% described their device as modern, i.e., under three years old), only 30% of teachers currently use mobile applications for chemistry instruction. Key barriers include a lack of Ukrainian-language educational content (80%), unreliable connectivity during power outages (70%), and insufficient professional development (60%). Teachers who adopt mobile tools report enhanced student engagement and improved understanding of abstract chemical concepts. We propose a tentative, crisis-adapted extension of TAM and UTAUT that introduces hierarchical facilitating conditions – from physical safety through infrastructure to pedagogical support – and reconceptualizes social influence as solidarity-based mutual support through informal teacher networks. Crisis conditions paradoxically both constrain and catalyze educational innovation. We propose design principles for crisis-context mobile learning emphasizing offline functionality, cognitive load management, and linguistic accessibility. This study contributes an early empirical account of technology adoption at the intersection of active military conflict, post-Soviet educational transformation, and chemistry-specific pedagogical constraints.