Researchers say don’t forbid smartphones at school

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 19/07/2025

Teacher and parents were wrong! Kids were right” Using smartphones at school should not be banned, new research shows. When teachers actively integrate smartphones into lessons, they can enhance learning and narrow academic gaps. The research, just published in Information Systems Research, suggests that the best classroom policy is to allow smartphones, but to guide students’ use explicitly for learning purposes, London School of Economics’  (LSE) Business Review reports. 

At the same time, a survey by US-based Pew Research Centre shows 74% of US adults say they would support banning middle and high school students from using mobilephones during class, up from 68% last fall. Far fewer (19%) oppose classroom bans and 7% are unsure,

The research positive to using smartphones, co-authored by Dr Aaron Cheng, assistant professor at LSE, Dr Zhe Deng, assistant professor at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Professor Pedro Ferreira, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and Professor Paul A. Pavlou, from the University of Miami, drew on a series of randomised controlled trials with more than 1,000 students aged 14 to 23 at a Chinese vocational school.

There were three alternatives: smartphones banned in their classroom, smartphones allowed in their classroom without guidance, or smartphones allowed in their classroom, but  under teacher direction.

The researchers found the teenagers spent on average  nine minutes on their smartphones during a 90-minute lesson, regardless of whether smartphones were allowed or not.

“When students used their smartphones without guidance from their teachers, they spent only around 36 seconds on learning-related activities and approximately eight minutes on distractions. But when they were asked by their teachers to use their phones constructively for learning, they spent nearly four minutes on learning-related activities and about 5.5 minutes on distractions”, LSE Business Review reports. 

“Overall, when teachers allowed the use of smartphones, but in a focused, guided way, it significantly helped older teens to learn and outweighed the time they spent distracted by the devices.”

“The payoff was greatest for previously lower-performing students. Lower-performing students saw a performance gain of 2.87 times the average gain of all students, compared to when smartphones were banned.. This result suggests that if managed well, technology in classrooms does not widen educational inequality; it can help close it.”

“These findings highlight a critical point: banning smartphones for older students is neither practical nor beneficial”, says Dr Aaron Cheng, co-author of the research. 

“The debate should not be about banning smartphones, but about how to weave them into lessons to maximise learning. With the right guidance and tools, smartphones can become powerful learning aids, rather than distractions.”

The US survey shows that support for all-day bans of mobile phones at school is  growing. More than four-in-ten Americans (44%) back bans on student mobile phone use during the entire school day, up from 36% last fall.

Still, 46% of Americans oppose all-day bans. Another 10% are unsure.

Support for all-day bans has grown across age groups since last year, though younger adults are less supportive than older people on this type of restriction, too.

According to the Pew survey, majorities say banning cellphones during the entire school day would positively impact students’ social skills, grades and behavior in class. Much smaller shares say a ban would have a negative impact on each of these, and about one-in-five say it would have neither impact.

Fewer Americans (37%) say an all-day ban would have a positive impact on students’ physical safety. About a quarter (23%) say a ban would have a negative impact. Another 39% say it would have neither impact.