{"id":63518,"date":"2022-06-22T00:36:59","date_gmt":"2022-06-22T04:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=63518"},"modified":"2022-06-24T22:53:38","modified_gmt":"2022-06-25T02:53:38","slug":"for-schools-accepting-student-mobile-phone-use-may-be-a-better-approach-than-banning-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/for-schools-accepting-student-mobile-phone-use-may-be-a-better-approach-than-banning-them\/","title":{"rendered":"For schools, accepting student mobile phone use may be a better approach than banning them"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nMost children in the UK\u00a0own their own phone by the age of 11<\/a>. In China children get their first phone at an even younger age, with 88% of first to third-grade pupils (aged six to nine)\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0to have their own smartphone.<\/p>\n

If children have their own phone, they may well take it to school with them \u2013 perhaps encouraged to do so by their parents for\u00a0safety reasons<\/a>. For schools, though, mobile phones can be seen as a source of distraction. In\u00a0France<\/a>, mobile phone use is banned during school hours. However, research with teachers in China\u00a0has found that<\/a>\u00a0banning phones at school is difficult to enforce.<\/p>\n

Another approach could be the adoption of school policies \u2013 rules or guidelines \u2013 that accept the inevitability of phones in schools.\u00a0Our recent research<\/a>\u00a0suggests that pupils, even in primary schools, may have the maturity to contribute to the development of appropriate policies.<\/p>\n

Some research\u00a0has found<\/a>\u00a0that banning mobile phone use can enhance students\u2019 academic performance, especially for pupils from\u00a0disadvantaged backgrounds<\/a>. But this has not been consistently found in other\u00a0research studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One reason for the inconsistency in research findings is that studies have focused on different age groups and little consideration has been given to children\u2019s maturity and academic motivation. This is important, as older children might be able to use their phones more appropriately.<\/p>\n

For example, 18-year olds have\u00a0been observed<\/a>\u00a0to only use their phones during the \u201cin-between\u201d spaces in the classroom, such as at the beginning and end of a class or when waiting for instruction. Furthermore, this phone use tended to be a solitary activity and therefore did not distract from learning. But it seems unlikely that\u00a0younger teenagers or children<\/a>\u00a0would behave in the same way.<\/p>\n

Benefits of mobile devices<\/strong><\/h4>\n

On the other hand, rather than considering mobile phones\u00a0a distraction<\/a>, they could be used to\u00a0increase pupils\u2019 engagement<\/a>\u00a0in learning. A\u00a0Bring your Own Device initiative<\/a>\u00a0trialled in New Zealand secondary schools, in which pupils were encouraged to bring their smartphones and tablets to use in class, found that their digital skills were improved and that there were increased opportunities for collaboration between pupils and between pupils and teachers.<\/p>\n

Instead of banning phones outright, schools could consider introducing mobile phone use policies which develop children\u2019s\u00a0digital skills and resilience<\/a>\u00a0by teaching them about the benefits as well as the risks of mobile phone use. In addition to reducing possible distractions to learning, these polices could be used to encourage appropriate mobile phone use. This might be particularly important for younger children who may be less able to regulate their use of\u00a0phones appropriately<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Consulting with children<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Taking the views of those most directly involved with the policy \u2013 teachers, pupils and parents \u2013 into consideration\u00a0is important<\/a>. Teachers must enforce the policy, children are the intended beneficiaries of the policy and the views of parents are likely to influence their child\u2019s compliance with the policy.<\/p>\n

In our research<\/a>\u00a0at Staffordshire University we carried out paired interviews with parents and their ten or 11 year-old children. First, they were asked for their views on the benefits and risks of mobile phone use at school. Secondly, a range of different school mobile phone polices were shared with them and they gave their views on these.<\/p>\n

The findings suggest the children and their parents shared the view that phones were important for keeping in contact. They were also aware of the downsides of having phones at school, including bullying and risks of being able to access the internet. Neither parents nor children were supportive of policies involving total bans.<\/p>\n

We found that the children contributed to the discussions in a very mature way, sometimes surprising their parents in how aware of the risks they were. Furthermore, in collaboration with their parents, they were able to come up with ideas for ideal policies and solutions to help enforce them. They demonstrated good awareness of appropriate and inappropriate use of mobile phones at school. One parent-child pair suggested a role of \u201ctelephone prefect\u201d who would have a class mobile phone that children and parents could use to contact each other during the school day when necessary.<\/p>\n

Involving children and parents in policy development has the potential to increase the effectiveness and enforceability of policies \u2013 and may even reduce children\u2019s problematic phone use\u00a0more broadly<\/a>. Consulting with parents and pupils when developing school mobile phone policies is already recommended in\u00a0Ireland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

School policies that ban mobile phones in schools may be missing an opportunity to involve children and educate them about responsible mobile phone use.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Sarah Rose is Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Child Development and Jennifer Taylor is Senior Lecturer in Qualitative Psychological Research Methods both at Staffordshire University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most children in the UK\u00a0own their own phone by the age of 11. In China children get their first phone at an even younger age, with 88% of first to third-grade pupils (aged six to nine)\u00a0reported\u00a0to have their own smartphone. If children have their own phone, they may well take it to school with them […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[1272],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-63518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-smartphones"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFor schools, accepting student mobile phone use may be a better approach than banning them - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/for-schools-accepting-student-mobile-phone-use-may-be-a-better-approach-than-banning-them\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For schools, accepting student mobile phone use may be a better approach than banning them - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most children in the UK\u00a0own their own phone by the age of 11. In China children get their first phone at an even younger age, with 88% of first to third-grade pupils (aged six to nine)\u00a0reported\u00a0to have their own smartphone. 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