Two years ago, schools were given the right to ban mobile phones themselves. Many chose to do it – even in upper secondary school. One argument was the poor Swedish results in the international knowledge assessment PISA.
Researcher Björn Tyrefors has looked at how students’ average grades were affected after the mobile phone ban was introduced. The result was perhaps not what the politicians want to hear.
– In our case, our effect was quite small, namely quite close to zero, it seems to have no effect at all, says Björn Tyrefors, professor at the University of Gothenburg.
Advantages and disadvantages
But there are still reasons to ban mobile phones in school, says Pär Nyström, who researches developmental processes in younger children at Uppsala University.
– There are advantages to a mobile phone ban and there are disadvantages. Usually when you make regulations, it’s about protecting those who are weak and fragile and in this particular case, I think there are many fragile and weak people who don’t feel very well with mobile phones in school, he says to forskning.se.
Yesterday 18:24
Pupils give both rice and praise to the proposal to ban mobile phones during breaks
Ban in Norwegian schools
Even in Norway, schools have introduced cell phone bans. Researcher Sara Abrahamsson at the Norwegian Public Health Institute has followed Norwegian high school students on an individual level and can see several improvements.
– After mobile phone bans are introduced, girls’ grades improve, and they go to specialist care, such as a psychologist, less often. For both girls and boys, bullying at school is decreasing, she says.
The government is expected to appoint an inquiry soon into a national ban on mobile phones in primary schools – even during breaks. Something Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson thinks is good.
– I am convinced that mobile freedom on school days is important. Students will socialize more, move more and have better focus. I also think it is easier if we have a common rule that everyone can relate to, says the Prime Minister.
Who will do what
As schools begin to ban phones even during breaks, the researchers have an important message:
– Do you intend to hire staff to carry out these activities? Or one thinks as usual, that the teachers can take their time to do these things. I think it is often proposals, when it comes to Swedish schools, that drive the teachers away from their core activities, says Björn Tyrefors.
– It is naive to believe that mobile phone bans can solve all the school’s problems, when it comes to teacher shortages and too few teaching hours, says Sara Abrahamsson.