Four in ten children aged five to fifteen own a mobile phone. Three quarters of those own smartphones, ostensibly omniscient devices that seem to have been plucked from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. These phones are disrupting established business models, working habits and government services, often advancing productivity and efficiency. They are also a classroom disruption. The Times reveals today that numerous schools, both state and independent, are banishing smartphones from the classroom and enjoying an academic dividend as a result. Their success should be replicated elsewhere.
Technology has its place in education. It is important for the workforce to “upskill” in this regard, and incorporating computer marking, virtual learning environments and visualisation software into everyday pedagogy will enrich children’s understanding of their subjects as well as expanding their technological skillset.
Likewise, phones have their place in the pockets of the young. It is to the benefit of parents that schoolchildren are now contactable during their journeys to and from school or during breaks, so that pick-ups, violin lessons and sports matches can be arranged with minimal fuss.
In practice, however, the overuse and abuse of technology in the classroom is bad for pupils’ development. Headteachers who have taken a hard line on smartphones have seen significant improvements in results. The academic literature corroborates their experiences. A study conducted earlier this year by researchers at the London School of Economics found that test scores increased by more than 6 per cent in schools which banned the devices. This is no surprise.
Mobile phones not only distract pupils from the substance of their work. They also erode concentration and good manners. Half of those aged 18 to 24 fail to get through the first five minutes of the day without checking their phone. More worryingly still, while a majority of Britons consider it bad manners to pick up their phone during a meal, four in ten admit to doing so. For pupils to go several hours a day without feeding this addiction would be of great psychological, as well as educational, benefit.
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This issue should not be escalated to the level of national education policy. Steps taken by the coalition government to vest more disciplinary power with individual schools are laudable and should not be undermined by centrally imposed directives on mobile phones. Rather, the problem must be addressed by individual headteachers. A number of different approaches are possible. Some schools demand that pupils hand in phones at the gates, inviting them to reclaim them at breaktime or at the end of the day. For schools with the resources to store the phones and run the reclaim operation, this is a sensible approach.
Others impose zero-tolerance rules on phone use in the classroom. This can aggravate parents who wish to know why they are paying for a mobile phone contract that is used only by a teacher’s bottom drawer. But heads report that pupils quickly get used to the idea and offence rates drop off quickly.
Pupils will, no doubt, be angry at a crackdown. They will, however, be grateful when their results come in. Many adult smartphone junkies are beyond help. Carefully disciplined children will come to pity them.