In fresh years, the impact of smartphones on school education and behaviour has been increasingly discussed. The Ministry of National Education does not plan to introduce a complete ban on smartphones in educational institutions, but the latest investigation from Norway and Poland provides interesting conclusions that may affect future decisions.
How do smartphones affect Polish students?
Research conducted in August 2024 by the application Fonia.app and Selectiv, which analysed GPS data from over 15,000 school facilities, provides disturbing information. As many as 90% of Polish parents admit that their children have their own smartphones, and 58% of them regularly take them to school.
This phenomenon is peculiarly common in secondary schools, where as many as 86% of students bring a telephone to classes. In primary schools, this figure is 47%. Parents frequently explain the request to keep in contact with a kid – 58% of parents declare this need, of which 56% for primary schools and 65% for secondary schools.
How much time do students spend on smartphones?
Although many parents believe that phones are meant to be only for contact, investigation indicates something else. Data collected by Selectivv show that primary school students spend an average of 48 minutes a day on their smartphones in schoolroom hours (from 8:00 to 14:00), and advanced school students spend up to 1 hr and 21 minutes. This means that these devices can be utilized not only for communication but besides for entertainment, which can have a negative impact on concentration and results in science.
Do smartphones distract students?
As many as 67% of parents are afraid that having a smartphone at school distracts a kid and negatively affects the teaching process. Nevertheless, as many as 79% of parents agree that children take their telephone to school, provided they do not usage it during class. Parents, therefore, are aware of the risks associated with the excessive usage of technology, but do not want to completely forbid children from having phones.
What are the consequences of the ban?
Although the ministry is not planning to ban smartphones in schools for the time being, the results propose that the debate on this subject is inevitable. In another countries, specified as France and Norway, the bans on the usage of telephones in schools are already in place, which can be a model for Poland. On the another hand, the introduction of specified a ban can be resisted by both students and parents who are afraid of losing their ability to communicate rapidly with their children.
Is change needed?
The question of smartphones in schools is simply a complex problem that requires a thoughtful approach. The introduction of a complete ban may seem a extremist solution, but the data show that the time spent by students on calls during the class is much longer than many parents think. This leads to reflection on whether the current regulations are adequate to effectively defend children from the negative impact of technology on their education.
The results of the latest studies clearly indicate that smartphones are commonly utilized by students in Polish schools, and their impact on education is significant. Although the ministry is not planning to impose a ban for the time being, discussions on this issue will surely continue. Will we see the ban on smartphones in Polish schools in the future? We will learn this after further investigation and public consultation.
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Schools are gonna ban smartphones completely? investigation shows a shocking truth
