Time for digital hygiene – Institute's consequence to Ministry of National Education's response

The content of the answer the Institute of civilian Affairs sent to the Ministry of National Education.

Boat, 20 June 2024.

Madam
Barbara Nowacka
Minister for Education
al. Jan Chrystian Szuch 25
00-918 Warsaw

Minister,

Thank you for the Ministry of National Education's consequence to the appeal ‘Time for digital hygiene’ Institute of civilian Affairs.

We were peculiarly pleased with the passage in which Mr Tomasz Głowacki, Deputy manager of the Department of General Education and Digital Transformation of the Ministry of National Education, wrote: ‘(...) it is so possible to consider prohibiting children from utilizing smartphones in kindergarten. In the case of schools – if at all – it could only concern the youngest pupils".

As regards the claim in the answer that ‘At the same time, for the full prohibition of the usage of [smartphones] in all schools and institutions, there appears to be no basis for research’, it should be stressed that specified investigation exists.

Three examples only from the past months.

Norwegian Institute of Public Health

On February 22, 2024, a study was published entitled “Prohibits on smartphones, student performance and intellectual health” (“Smartphone Bans, Student Outcomes and intellectual Health) prepared by Sara Abrahamsson of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. It concerns the results of the introduction of a regulation on telephone usage in more than 400 schools in Norway, where young people aged 13 to 16 are taught. The survey lasted 3 years.

The main conclusions of the study are: First, the ban on smartphones reduced by 60 percent the number of visits by students seeking intellectual and therapeutic aid from specialists and household doctors. Second, schools without smartphones have reported less cases of peer persecution and bullying among students. Thirdly, students' grades have improved. This change mainly concerns girls who have achieved better results in mathematics. Fourthly, telephones, through their distracting function, reduce their academic performance especially among students from low socio-economic families. And finally, the "star of the program": the results in discipline were better in schools that banned the bringing of smartphones to schools or where students had to return their phones before the classes started. This is simply a better solution than just quieting the phones and leaving them within the scope of the child.

London School of Economics and Political Science

The second survey to be noted is entitled "Bad Communication: Technology, Distraction and Student Results" ("Ill Communication: Technology, distribution & student performance"). Louis-Philippe Beland of Louisiana State University and Richard Murphy of Texas University of Austin, as part of the London School of Economics and Political Science, analysed the impact of the ban on mobile phones in 91 over-basic schools in the UK in 2013. A full survey included data from 130,482 students.

The survey notes: “Our results propose that the weak students with a telephone at their disposal will be more likely to be distracted, while those who win can concentrate during lessons, regardless of the school’s mobile policy. [...] Schools could so clearly reduce the dependence of educational success on the social layer by prohibiting the usage of mobile phones. Conversely, the abolition of specified a ban in fresh York City could lead to an unintended increase in inequality in the field of education [which depends on belonging to a peculiar social layer].’

OECD. Organisation for economical Cooperation and Development

On 24 May 2024, the Organisation for economical Cooperation and improvement (OECD), which brings together 38 highly developed and democratic countries, including Poland, published a study on Students, Digital Devices and Success (‘Students, digital devices and success’). It concerns the impact of smartphones and another screen devices on learning outcomes among children and adolescents. The 7 most crucial OECD conclusions:

1. Excessive usage of digital devices for amusement during lessons can negatively affect students' learning outcomes.
2. 58% of students in France admitted that the usage of digital devices distracts their attention from at least any math lessons.
3. 59% of students in OECD countries have stated that their attention is diverted from at least any math classes by telephones, tablets or laptops utilized by another students.
4. Students who have reported that their attention in some, most or all of the math classes is distracted by peers utilizing digital devices during these lessons have importantly weaker results on the math tests.
5. 43% of French students admitted that they felt tense or anxious erstwhile their phones were not around.
6. The digital environment creates educational opportunities, but besides poses threats, specified as cyberbullying, vulnerability to inappropriate content, and yet creates concerns about privacy protection.
7. Regulations prohibiting the usage of smartphones in schools may aid to mitigate distractions, but to guarantee that the learning environment promotes concentration, there is inactive a request for effective enforcement of this ban and another strategies.

Schools sued to courts

The Ministry of National Education replied: "It should be stressed that the school head liable for the care of pupils and carrying out tasks related to ensuring the safety of children and teachers during classes organised by the school is required to plan effective mechanisms for eliminating any risks, including the uncontrolled usage of electronic devices by pupils on the school premises, including by means of appropriate school statutes."

Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

On “Warning! Smartphone” conference in Krakow, teachers came to our stand who asked what to do erstwhile parents threatened to sue the school if this introduced a regulation for the usage of telephones on the premises.

In our opinion, the concerns of teachers, directors and parents are justified, especially if we take into account the incomprehensible position of the Ombudsman. Marcin Wiączek claims that "school statutes must not unduly and disproportionately restrict student rights and freedoms", and this is the case due to the fact that "the statutes contain rules limiting property rights, specified as a full ban on bringing telephones to school or the anticipation to take electronic devices from students".

any teachers and directors are afraid about the judicial scenario, so they do not take action to introduce "local solutions for the usage of mobile phones and another individual digital devices at school". Teachers tell us that a much better solution is the limitation introduced by the Ministry of National Education. As in France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands and Norway.

Minister,

We encourage the Ministry of National Education to immediately start legislative work on amending the rules on the usage of electronic devices by students.

With the hard results of research, let us learn from the mistakes of another countries, not our own, which we will not announcement for a fewer years. Let us stick to the precautionary principle, which should be the foundation wherever there are concerns that a given technology can origin damage.

With respect

Rafał Górski
President of the Management Board
Institute for civilian Affairs