“Analysis of international experience”: in Russia may limit the use of mobile phones in schools

The joint working group of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, Rospotrebnadzor, Rosobrnadzor and the Russian Academy of Education recommended that the regions consider limiting the use of mobile gadgets in schools. The Ministry of Education noted that such measures are aimed at preventing possible harm to the health of students and improving the effectiveness of the educational process.

"An analysis of the international experience of using mobile phones by schoolchildren revealed that a long time of their use, as well as use while in school, can lead to mental disorders, hyperactivity, irritability, sleep disturbances, as well as reduced mental performance, weakening memory and attention," - emphasized in the Ministry of Education.

It is noted that when developing recommendations, in addition to international experience, the results of opinion polls in Russia were taken into account, according to which the majority of respondents support the introduction of such measures.

“During the survey, 61% of students, 89% of parents and 90% of teachers supported the restriction on the use of mobile phones by schoolchildren during classes,” the press release said.

About three quarters of the respondents expressed the opinion that teachers should also use cell phones at school in a limited manner in the presence of students.

“More than half of schoolchildren agree that the disordered use of mobile phones can harm their health and distract from the learning process. Among adult survey participants (parents and teachers), 83–90% of respondents agree with these statements, ”the Ministry of Education said.

An exception is proposed to be made for those children who need to use mobile gadgets for health reasons, for example, for monitoring blood sugar levels in diabetes. In particular, it is proposed to recommend that all participants in the educational process, when entering the school, turn on the silent mode on the phones.

In addition, schools are encouraged to provide places for storing students' phones during classes and to consider ways to contact their parents if necessary or in case of emergency. Also, students will need to talk about the dangers of excessive enthusiasm for gadgets.

“It is recommended ... to carry out explanatory work on the prevention of adverse effects on the health and education of children from the effects of mobile communication devices and to foster a culture of using such devices,” the Ministry of Education reports.

Relevant methodological recommendations will be sent to the regions before the start of the new school year, the department said.

Commenting on the proposed initiative, the head of the National Parents Committee, Irina Volynets, noted that even an interesting educational process attracts children to a much lesser extent than the entertainment available on smartphones.

“This is exciting, it is objectively more interesting than learning. For a unit of time, dopamine (a hormone of pleasure) when playing or being on a social network is generated many times more than when a child "nibbles the granite of science." No matter how talented the teacher, no matter how important and interesting the topic is, the gadget overpowers ... Therefore, the introduction of such restrictions is logical, ”the expert said.

The interlocutor of RT believes that the introduction of new restrictive measures can contribute to improving the performance of children, since phones, according to her, remain the main factor hindering their studies.

“If the child is banned from using the phone in the lesson, I’m not saying that everyone will become excellent students, but one less distraction will become less. Moreover, this is a very significant distraction, probably the most distracting of all. And I want to hope that as a result of this innovation, the performance of our children will increase, ”she said.

On the other hand, although telephones mainly distract children from learning, in certain situations they can be used in schools as one of the tools of the educational process, said Oleg Smolin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science.

“Mobile phones can be used for educational purposes to collect information. For example, my students at my lectures shoot presentations on my mobile phone that I show them because there is a lot of data. A similar situation is possible in high school. I remind you that Rosobrnadzor promises in a few years to introduce in the USE tasks related to finding information on the Internet. Where to teach children such skills as not in the lesson, ”the specialist noted in an interview with RT.

Nevertheless, the expert agrees that the introduction of certain restrictions is necessary, and if the lesson does not intend to use mobile gadgets for educational purposes, they should be turned off or put into silent mode.

We add that Rospotrebnadzor during the year will assess the health status of students in the context of restrictions on the use of telephones. And Rosobrnadzor, together with the Russian Academy of Education, the agency will conduct selective monitoring of improving the efficiency of the educational process.

According to a survey of the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM), conducted in 2018, almost three quarters of Russians support the idea of ​​banning the use of telephones in schools.

“Most Russians (83%) believe that personal phones and smartphones prevent students from learning ... Three-quarters of respondents (73%) support the idea of ​​banning the use of smartphones and other gadgets during class. According to 69% of our fellow citizens, thanks to such restrictions on the use of electronic gadgets in schools, children will learn better, ”the study published in September 2018 noted.