Last week saw major changes to school life in both countries: New Zealand and the Canadian province of Ontario completely banned mobile phones in schools. As expected, such a radical step caused a wave of publications in the media. We have studied several publications of this type and offer you our conclusions.
One of New Zealand’s leading publications, The New Zealand Herald, published extensive review material on the new ban. The newspaper draws attention to the fact that the reason for the ban was two factors: an increase in abuse towards children on the Internet, especially bullying, and a deterioration in academic performance due to the distraction of mobile phones in the classrooms. classrooms.
This was stated directly by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, who announced that “bans the use of mobile phones in schools to help improve academic performance and support all children”.
New Zealand is not the first country to ban phones in schools. In neighboring Australia, the state of Western Australia previously banned phone use in schools for children up to grade 6 and recommended keeping phones turned off and out of sight for students in grades 7 to 12. The main reason for the ban was the deterioration of academic performance.
By the 2023/24 school year, all but one Australian state will ban mobile phones in schools to “limit the negative impact of inappropriate use and reduce unnecessary distractions in classrooms to help teachers and students focus on learning” (daily mail quote). These reasons were given by the South Australian government, but in other states the authorities argued for the ban in a similar way, also mentioning the fight against cyberbullying.
The experience of other countries suggests that such a measure can be effective. Thus, a study by the London School of Economics carried out in 2015 showed that after the ban, school performance increased by 6.41%, which is equivalent to the introduction of an additional school week.
The study summarized the experiences of 91 UK schools. However, researchers noted that the ban only works if it is fully enforced. If there is no strict control of the ban, it will have no effect. A similar effect was observed in Norway, where the ban on smartphones caused an increase in mean scores.
At the same time, several countries pointed out the practical uselessness of such a measure to reduce cases of child bullying on social networks. In particular, researchers from Spain and Australia have questioned the effectiveness of this measure. Apparently, this is because after the ban on mobile devices in schools, children continue to use them at home.
However, New Zealand is optimistic, especially as the new cabinet aims to improve education. The Post writes about this on May 5.
Speaking about banning phones in schools, Education Minister Erica Stanford hinted that the government plans to attract new teachers to schools. Stimulus measures are expected to be included in the new budget, which will be announced in May.
New Zealand authorities have set ambitious targets: by December 2030, 80% of students in grade 8 and above will have a good grasp of the curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics. “To make a difference, we need to make fundamental changes, including going back to basics.”Stanford explained what the government has.
Wehengarua Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) president Chris Abercrombie reiterated that for the program to be successful, schools must be fully staffed with teachers. Now, according to PPTA, this is not the case: more than half of schools (56%) are forced to fill staffing gaps with teachers of other subjects. This is the largest teacher shortage since 1996.
The situation is slightly different in Canada. First of all, these changes are not introduced at the national level. This is due to the specifics of Canada: the provinces have a fairly large level of autonomy, their own governments, budgets, and many issues are resolved at the regional level.
Furthermore, the ban has not yet been introduced. It is planned to introduce it starting with the new academic year. The total ban will apply only to the first through sixth grades of school; older students will be able to use the phone between lessons.
This is one more step towards freeing children from phones: the government’s 2019 recommendations were previously in place, which said the decision to ban it was left to the discretion of school boards and individual schools.
However, despite these preparations, some teachers’ unions and even their associations began to complain about the new measures. The National Post wrote about this on May 2. This is even more surprising considering that in April, the top four members of the Ontario Public School Boards Association (OPSBA) sued Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat.
School principals demanded compensation of 4.5 billion Canadian dollars (300 billion rubles) from social networks for “widespread failures in the educational system”caused by social networks. However, after the ban was announced, OPSBA requested a delay to study the opinions of experts, students and parents.
The union’s main concern is possible opposition from students and their parents. The newspaper sarcastically notes that if teachers cannot cope with such a simple ban, then they should look for another job. However, NP also points out the source of teachers’ fears: manipulation with the argument of protecting the rights of various minorities.
“When it comes to discipline in Ontario schools, too often it is not about what the student did, but what group they belong to. “There is a deep-seated fear of disciplining students from any identifiable group because it could lead to accusations of discrimination and even racism.”says the article.
But everything could change if the authorities support a different trend and the Minister of Education of Ontario, Stephen Lecce, has assured his support to school authorities on the matter of banning phones.
However, while some teachers doubt their abilities and weigh the pros and cons of banning phones, schools that have already introduced such measures highlight their undoubted benefits. In the American state of Connecticut, a school in Manchester conducted an experiment in which children had to store their phones in special cases.
These cases have a special magnetic closure that a child cannot open. Therefore, the phone remains in the hands of its owner, but he cannot use it. School teachers notice the undoubted benefits of innovation.
If before the children had their phones ready to record any incident and this kept both the school staff and the rest of the students in suspense, now the situation has changed. “Before this, kids were running down the hallway with cameras ready to film the fight.”“,” school teacher John Burkhart described the situation before the phone ban. Now children and teachers feel calmer.
According to administration officials, some parents’ fears that their children would not be able to contact them in the event of some unexpected situation diminished over time. State Governor Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong and Education Commissioner Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, who visited the school to inspect it, interviewed teachers and students and were satisfied with what they saw.
Since then, the governor has repeatedly spoken out in favor of spreading this experience throughout the state, and the attorney general also praised the Manchester school experience.
In general, the abandonment of mobile phones by schoolchildren is gaining momentum around the world. A review article published on October 31, 2023 in the New York Times newspapers lists the countries and states that have introduced these types of bans.
China was one of the first to do this. The British government has issued recommendations to remove phones from schools by 2023. Italy has introduced a ban on the use of phones during classes. The US state of Florida has banned phones in public schools across the state. And the first bans in the United States were introduced in 1989, and by 2010, some type of ban on phones in schools was in effect in more than 90% of schools.
According to a UNESCO report, almost one in four countries in the world has introduced some form of ban. According to the NYT, phone bans can have a positive impact on both academic performance and the problem of student bullying.
As numerous media publications show, one of the key factors for success in this matter is the attitude of all participants in the process, especially parents, to such prohibitions. What was nowhere to be found was a deterioration in the performance of schoolchildren who lost their phones.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.