Mobile phone ban at schools: Teachers demand clear rules for digital media!

Mobile phone ban at schools: Teachers demand clear rules for digital media!

The mobile phone ban in schools is hotly debated in Austria: in several federal states, especially Carinthia, there are already clear advocates. In the meantime, Lower Austria refers to "school autonomy", which in the current debate on the use of smartphones in school rooms is an important point. According to a survey by the Austrian Federal Verlag in cooperation with the Johannes Kepler University of Linz, among 949 teachers, 44 percent of those surveyed stated that they were to be banned from making a cell phone clearly, while 30 percent "more" agreed. In contrast, ten percent of such a ban clearly rejects, as the NÖN reported.

use of smartphones in class

The survey also shows that 14 percent of teachers state that their students use cell phones "often" for learning purposes, while the majority are classified for "sometimes" or "rarely". In higher schools in particular, smartphones are used significantly more often for learning than in compulsory schools. Philipp Nussböck, Managing Director of the Austrian Federal Verlag, emphasizes that smartphones also bring many challenges such as distractions and cyber bullying. This digitization is not only a challenge, but also offers potential that can be used - because especially where there are no tablets or laptops, the smartphone can act as a valuable learning tool.

in parallel to this discussion, the current Pisa-Study has decreased in Germany in recent years. In 2022, only 70 percent of mathematics students achieved the minimum competence in 2022, which represents a decrease of 9 percent compared to 2018. These declines are worrying, especially against the background that 42 percent of non-high school school types fall under the minimum competence. The study also shows that pupils from socially disadvantaged conditions often show worse services, which makes the need for supportive measures in schools inevitable.