Opinion: While a mobile phone ban provides a clear-cut solution, it simplifies the complex reasons why students become distracted in school
By Alan Gorman and James O'Higgins Norman, DCU
The global push to ban mobile phones in schools has stirred significant debate, with Ireland now considering a similar approach, detailed in the recently published Draft Programme for Government 2025. This includes a plan for a €7 million rollout of pouches to store phones during the schoolday. Proponents argue that such bans reduce distractions, boost focus, and create safer environments free from online harms, but there is more at play beneath the surface.
Are these bans genuinely effective in fostering focussed, engaged, and safe learning environments - or are they convenient solutions that skirt deeper, systemic issues within education? As mobile phones and digital technologies become inseparable from everyday life, policymakers face a critical decision: to impose restrictions or to develop the skills students need for responsible technology use.
What’s driving the mobile phone ban in schools?
Policies advocating for mobile phone bans in schools believe that these devices disrupt student focus and detract from learning even when not actively used. By eliminating phones from the classroom, these policies aim to improve student engagement and cultivate a more focussed and productive educational environment. By focussing on phones, this approach tackles a visible issue with a straightforward narrative: eliminate distractions to enhance the learning environment.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, does banning smartphones from schools really fix the mental health problem?
While it provides a clear-cut solution, this perspective simplifies the complex reasons why students may become distracted or lose focus in school. Issues such as teaching, curriculum assessment and resources are also crucial to student engagement, but are far more challenging and costly to fix. Focussing on phones allows policymakers to appear decisive without addressing the broader, more embedded issues within the education system that may be curtailing students’ learning.
In addition to distraction, concerns around cyberbullying and student well-being are often cited as justifications for phone bans. By restricting phones, policymakers aim to create safer environments that promote student well-being and are free from online harassment. But addressing these concerns through a ban alone may not be sufficient. Effective and comprehensive strategies are required that tackle both the online and offline factors affecting student mental health and online safety.
The case for a mobile phone ban in schools
When policies advocate for a blanket mobile phone ban, they often reflect a governance style rooted in control and compliance. This approach views schools as environments where behaviour needs to be carefully regulated, and rules must be established to maintain order and discipline. Furthermore, policies asserting that schools should be 'phone-free zones’ frame phones as incompatible with schooling.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, reporter Brian O'Connell meets the students who lock their phone into electronic pouches during class
The underlying assumption here is that students need to be protected from themselves - that they cannot manage their devices responsibly during school hours. This control-oriented approach addresses not just a distraction but also aims to protect student well-being by reducing exposure to cyberbullying, which is more accessible with phones at hand.
By removing phones, the policies seek to create a safer school environment, free from the pressures of social media and digital harassment. However, this choice to ban rather than teach responsible phone use suggests that students require external regulation rather than skill development to navigate these challenges. This raises questions about how well such an approach prepares them for the technological world, where digital literacy and self-regulation will be crucial, not only for learning but also for personal safety and well-being.
Symbolic policy or real solution?
Phone ban policy initiatives are emblematic of what critical policy analysts call symbolic policies - highly visible, relatively simple measures that signal action without addressing deeper systemic problems. For policymakers, this investment is an immediate and tangible way to address public concerns over mobile phones without requiring extensive systemic changes.
From RTÉ News, students at Castlecomer Community School in Co Kilkenny on the mobile phone ban
Banning phones in schools does not necessitate significant educational reform or long-term investments in infrastructure, positioning it as a politically attractive option. More comprehensive education reforms, such as updating curricula, investing in teacher education and professional learning or expanding student support services, require long-term commitments. Furthermore, they may not yield immediate, visible results.
On the other hand, banning mobile phones in the classroom provides an explicit, immediate action that can be touted as a decisive step towards improving the learning environment. This approach may resonate with public sentiment and sidestep the complexities involved in more comprehensive educational reforms.
Using technology responsibly in schools
Ultimately, mobile phone bans offer seemingly simple solutions to complex issues, but they are not a panacea. As technology permeates all aspects of life, policymakers have the chance to go beyond quick fixes and consider how to integrate technology in ways that actively promote student engagement, learning, and well-being.
By embracing strategies that incorporate digital technologies thoughtfully, students can be supported to build resilience and develop the skills needed to navigate the complexities of both the online and offline worlds. Thus, the challenge for policymakers is to move beyond the allure of easy answers and to invest in a more comprehensive approach, one that integrates technology thoughtfully into the classroom. This could yield better results for students in both their academic and personal lives.
Dr Alan Gorman is an Assistant Professor in the School of Policy and Practice and Chair of the Doctor of Education programme at DCU. Prof James O'Higgins Norman is Professor of Clinical Sociology at DCU Institute of Education, UNESCO Chair on Bullying and Cyberbullying and leads the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
