The rise of smartphone usage has provided an additional challenge for teachers but a proposal to ban them from schools would be difficult, a Central West representative of the Teachers Federation has said.
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World-renowned education expert Pasi Sahlberg said banning the devices at primary schools and teaching self-discipline for secondary students was crucial to stopping the damage they are causing to learning.
Smartphones were distracting students from reading, school-related work, physical activity, and high-quality sleep, Dr Sahlberg said.
Teachers Federation Country Organiser Kelly Anderson, who is based in Bathurst, said smartphones were proving a challenge for teachers, but acknowledged they were now commonplace for students.
“It would be difficult to manage [a potential ban]. Students do need to be able to focus on learning and they should be leaving phones in their bag,” Ms Anderson said.
“Communication for students in regional areas is important but parents can always contact the school office if they need to get a message to their children.”
Dr Sahlberg, who will join the University of New South Wales as a professor of education this year, said he believed smartphone-related distraction was one of the main reasons why Australia and similar countries were sliding down global rankings.
“Schools everywhere need to react very quickly to cope with the smartphone issue,” he said.
“Smartphones don't belong [in] primary schools or young children under 12. For the sake of fairness and equity, [banning them in early years] would be the best thing to do.”
Education Minister Rob Stokes said some primary schools were already prohibiting access to smartphones for non-educational purposes, a move he supported.
"Even in the case of high school students, the basic premise should be that there is no role for smartphones inside the school gate unless the device is needed for academic reasons," he said.
Ms Anderson said the Teacher’s Federation didn’t have a specific stance on the role of smartphones in schools but it encouraged schools to manage students’ use of them.
“The emergence of smartphones has added another level of classroom management for teachers,” she said.
“The sole purpose of the classroom is for learning and anything that can distract from that is a problem.
“Phones can be used as an educational tool, but pens and paper are just as important, and phones have the potential to disengage students from learning.”
In NSW, schools set their own smartphone policy. Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham recently called for a smartphone ban in classrooms, saying they were a distraction from lessons and a platform for bullying.