2018/16: Should mobile phones be banned in schools?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On September 5, 2018, CNN televised a report detailing the decision of the French government to ban mobile phones in the nation's schools.What they said...
'I am seeing the most violent, vulgar, horrible comments you can imagine... I have kids being photographed in change rooms during sport...Lots of kids are being told to kill themselves and sent links to suicide websites'
Susan McLean, adviser to the Federal Government's Cyber Safety Working Group
'If school students want to investigate, collect data, receive personalised and immediate feedback, record media, create, compose, or communicate with peers, in and beyond the classroom, then using mobile apps is ideal'
Matthew Kearney, associate professor, Teacher Education Program, University of Technology Sydney
The Issue at a glance
On December 13, 2018, the New South Wales government announced that mobile phones will be banned from public primary schools across the state from the start of the 2019 school year.
The New South Wales Department of Education will provide guidelines to schools about exactly how the ban will work; however, it is believed students will not be able to have access to mobile phones during the day.
On December 10, 2018, the federal Education Minister, Dan Tehan, delivered a speech at the Australian National University's conference on preparing young people for education beyond Year 12, in which he flagged the possibility of mobile phones being banned from Australian classrooms in the name of improving student performance.
In September, 2018, a new law came into effect in France outlawing mobile phone use by students up to the age of 15. The legislation also bans tablets and smart watches.
The New South Wales' decision has sparked extensive debate within that state, with academics, school principals, teachers and parents all taking up positions on both sides of the question. The issue is a vigorously contested one across Australia and overseas.