The Mobile Phone Ban in Australian Schools
Should mobile phones be banned in all Australian Schools?
Most educators and staff I have spoken to in my role as an eSafety and Digital Parenting educator believe that mobile phone use in schools are at the very least distracting and at worst dangerous . Research shows that smartphones may also increase issues around exposure to harmful content, self-harm and body image and certainly have accelerated the rise of online bullying.
The NSW Labor party are considering bringing in a Public Highschool Mobile Phone Ban for Students. Many independent schools and some public high schools in NSW already have mobile phone bans or restrictions. Some schools prohibit all phone use on school grounds, and some have a partial ban or ban younger students only. This post is my take on what I have noticed over 12 years of visiting schools and gaining insight and feedback from students, parents and teaching staff.
From Flip phones - SmartPhones
Over the last 12 years working with schools, I've built up quite a bit of data on how different schools manage mobile phone use.
Before visiting or working with a school, I always ask what their mobile phone and Laptop policies are. This information helps me understand what sort of issues students, teachers and parents might have, and it also helps me understand how each system works for each school.
The feedback I receive from students, parents and educators has overwhelmingly been on the side of a mobile phone ban. Staff that have moved from school to school have also told me their impressions of schools that ban phones and those that do not.
Primary Schools and Phones
Mobile phones are banned in all public primary schools in Australia. Each school generally has its own policy. Some schools require all students to hand them into the main office before school and pick them up after school classes end. Some require students to keep them switched off and in bags. Some schools require phones left in lockers, electronically locked pouches, or a basket where the class teacher stores them during class.
I have yet to receive any negative feedback from teachers or staff in the primary schools I have worked with regarding banning mobile phones during class times. Quite the opposite, all primary school staff have said that the bans were necessary and have contributed to a safer, healthier school. Social engagement between students has risen, physical play has increased, and fewer distractions have been caused previously by mobile phone use.
Unfortunately, I've also been told the bans have not eliminated the issues around the problematic use of phones amongst students, with all the same problems occurring outside of school grounds and some breaches within the school.
Smart Watches & Headphones
I am also hearing about issues around smartwatches and headphones. I've seen an uptake of smartwatches in primary and high school over the last 4 years. One primary school principal told me that smartwatches use by children to text or receive texts are also a problem, and he is extending the phone ban to include smartwatches. He found it challenging to identify a smartwatch when some look like regular watches or step and fitness trackers like a Fitbit. Identifying a phone is relatively easy, but recognising the capabilities of a smartwatch is much more difficult. Smartwatches with parental controls can still be risky and rely on the child and parent to comply. Smartwatches can make calls and messages and access social media and emails. They have games, stream audio, and much more.
Some parents are giving younger students smartwatches with calling or texting abilities because they want their children to be able to contact them before buying a smartphone. The watch also acts as a location tracking device, helping the parent feel more secure about their child's whereabouts.
Headphones or earbuds are also an issue in schools. Teachers at one school I visited had to constantly tell students to take off their headphones during the assembly. I observed a student wearing headphones during my eSafety talk and hiding them from staff under long hair. Wireless earbuds make it harder to tell if a student listens to music or a podcast in class. Some new in-ear wireless earbuds have storage, so they don't need a phone or watch nearby to stream content.
What Does A Phone Ban In A School Look Like?
In schools I have visited where there are phone bans, the student's behaviour is noticeably different from schools with no ban, which is backed up by feedback from the staff. Students have a far better attention span. They talk and play with each other during recess and lunch instead of sitting in groups on their phones. There is more eye contact, physical activity and socialising overall. There are also fewer instructions by teachers to tell students to put their phones away or remove earphones during class and assemblies. Overall, staff report improved educational outcomes, physical activity, and healthier social engagement between students.
Anti Technology?
Some critics of phone bans have said that they feel it is anti-technology and that schools need to embrace phones as they are entrenched in our culture and cannot be ignored.
I have found that in many schools that ban phones, they are generally not "anti-technology" at all. Some have the most cutting-edge technology available for students at the school, including state-of-the-art computers, 3D printers, film studios with editing facilities and more. They didn’t find that allowing students to have personal devices on school grounds was beneficial to learning outcomes and wellbeing.
High School And Phones
Public high schools in Australia have varying policies on the use of smartphones during school hours. Some schools have implemented a complete ban on using phones, while others have partial or no bans. Schools that have implemented a ban generally receive positive feedback from teachers, students, and parents. These schools report fewer incidents involving digital devices and more positive outcomes for socialisation and learning.
The rules for phone use in the classroom vary between teachers and schools. Some teachers allow phones for research purposes, while others ban them altogether. Some schools have designated areas where students can use their internet-connected devices during breaks. In contrast, others allow senior students only to use their phones.
Online Safety In Schools
Online safety is critical, and limiting harmful behaviour on phones in schools is essential. Schools have a Duty Of Care to protect their students from harm, both physical and mental.
Schools that allow students to bring their own devices (BYOD) or use school-issued laptops or tablets typically connect to a filtered WiFi system. Classroom management software may also be used to monitor students' online activity during class. Mobile phones rarely have filters or school management controls, although I have visited a school that insisted that all mobile phones were preloaded with a school management software. Putting an eSafety management app on a phone that is for personal use, is controversial due to issue of privacy, ethics and human rights.
Unfiltered access to the internet can be dangerous in schools. This might include live streaming, prank photos and video, cyberbullying and viewing explicit content and showing it around.
Teachers report that there are fewer incidents both in school and out of school online when phone bans are in place. Benefits are more evident in schools that have a high attendance at eSafety parent education sessions and support from parents with responsible phone use. To underpin safety, schools should ensure parents are educated on filtering options for home use and parental control options outside of school so that harmful content is not downloaded to a School Device and brought into school.
Many staff members reported that they were overwhelmed with student incident on phones. Despite repeated education around appropriate use of phones and disciplinary action, students phone use in some schools was dangerous and in some cases criminal, leading to a phone ban. In several schools I visited the situation was made worse by parents who were actively pushing back against any consequences for harmful phone use. Because the phone was for personal use, these parents believed the school was overstepping their Childs rights to have access to a phone at all times.
Bans In Schools Will It Work?
One school principal I worked with at an Independent school, who had always had a phone ban said he couldn't understand “What all the fuss was about” his school treated the phones like any other banned behaviour or substance. Sure, some kids broke the rules, but there was a fair consequence when caught out, which was no different from other issues. He stated that he never expected 100% compliance with anything that was banned in schools. Other common bans in schools like Bans on certain behaviour, illicit substances, and smoking continually require education, vigilance and fair consequences for breeches. This educator reported that their school had better socialised, active and kinder students, and the learning outcomes were positive. Parents often chose his school as it was one of the few high schools that had a phone ban.
Feedback from Teaching Staff
The reasons that teachers gave for supporting a ban were:
Social culture at school less harmonious with phones
New students struggle to make friends when on their phone
Phones are a constant distraction for students
Difficult to monitor personal phone use - easily hidden
Potential for inappropriate behaviour, photos, and content
Access to inappropriate content due to evading school WiFi filters
The problem of disruptive texting between parents and students
Wearables like smartwatches and earbuds are also becoming a problem
Feedback From Staff Against A Phone Ban
Some Educators do not support the phone ban because they see it as backward and unworkable
They believe phones can be used in lessons, and students should learn to use them responsibly
School is a place to teach responsible phone usage
They think it should be up to each individual school to decide
They believe the ban is unenforceable
Need for 100% compliance and parental support
Some schools do not want to confiscate phones due to risk. Some phones are priced at over $1,000.00.
Some teachers tell me that they have enough problems disciplining students as it is, and adding a mobile phone ban into the mix is just too hard. However, at one school I visited with no phone ban, I saw more teachers yelling at the students to put their phones and headphones away than I had ever seen at a school with a phone ban. The effort it took the staff to control an assembly of 300 students with phones and earbuds connected was extraordinary.
Legal Implications And Duty Of Care
Schools have a duty of care to protect all students from harm. There may be harmful consequences and legal implications if another student is shown violent or pornographic content or is harmed by using a personal mobile phone on school grounds.
If a student finds inappropriate content on a school WiFi or school-issued device. The school is liable, so they work very hard to ensure that their devices are as secure as they can be with device-based security and WiFi filters.
There are, of course, legal and criminal implications. If a teacher or staff member is filmed or recorded without permission, especially if the video is used in a harassing way. Apps like TikTok and YouTube are notorious for videos taken in schools, sometimes featuring students and staff in embarrassing or incriminating situations without consent.
Each school and department of education have to weigh the risks vs the benefits and the rights of the students to have their phones with them during school hours. They must also consider the legal implications of a crime committed on their campus with a mobile phone. Crimes could be online harassment and bullying, child exploitation material, blackmail and recording others without consent.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Although it is clear that banning mobile phones in most cases has already shown many benefits, Some schools I have visited clearly needed help with providing alternative technology to phones, particularly because of a lack of funding for student computers.
Due to low socioeconomic circumstances, some families at these schools had no home computers. Students only had Internet access on their phones further hampered with limited data plans. These students relied on their mobile phones for homework and some school work. Some students without Laptops or Tablets looked up information, took notes and set reminders up on their phones during class.
These under resourced schools also tended to have lower attendance by parents and staff at eSafety events. As a result, parents and school staff were less aware of eSafety education. Parents of students from these struggling schools overwhelmingly relied on staff to support their children with online safety education and protection.
Each school's demographic needs to be considered when considering whether to ban phones in all schools. More support for schools where students do not have internet access or home computers outside of school, and limited access within the school is vital.
What's Next?
This is a much broader issue than just mobile phones and other wearables. What guidelines will be set up for new devices just on the horizon....smart glasses? (Snapchat has already released them...) ..shoe phone? Neural network? Where to from here?