A new study has found that banning\u00a0 students from using mobile phones at school leads to improved exam results.<\/p>\n
Research conducted by the London School of Economics<\/a> found that students lost up to an hour a week of productivity due to smartphone use.<\/p>\n “Mobile phones can be a source of great disruption in workplaces and classrooms, as they provide individuals with access to texting, games, social media and the Internet. Given these features, mobile phones have the potential to reduce the attention students pay to classes and can therefore be detrimental to learning,” the report said.<\/p>\n The LSE generated a unique dataset on the history of mobile phone and other school policies from 91 British schools. The data featured the grades of 130,000 16-year-old students.<\/p>\n The report’s authors, Richard Murphy and Louis-Philippe Beland of the London School of Economics, said that a ban students from carrying phones saw a clear improvement in their test scores.<\/p>\n “We found the impact of banning phones for these students equivalent to an additional hour a week in school, or to increasing the school year by five days.”<\/p>\n The researchers also found that following a ban on phone use, student test scores improved by 6.41%. This improved to 14.23% for students ‘in the lowest quartile’.<\/p>\n “The results suggest that low-achieving students are more likely to be distracted by the presence of mobile phones, while high achievers can focus in the classroom regardless of the mobile phone policy,” the report said.<\/p>\n In March, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio lifted a ban on mobile phones in schools, with each school being able to determine their own rules on technology use.<\/p>\n “Schools could significantly reduce the education achievement gap by prohibiting mobile phone use in schools, and so by allowing phones in schools, New York may unintentionally increase the inequalities of outcomes,” the authors said.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s education system vs the world<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Is South Africa ready for digital education?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on education<\/h3>\n