9 out of 10 high school teachers in Scotland say lessons are interrupted by phones
The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association is worried there is a high dependency on phones, which are often being used to text or take pictures in the classroom
Last updated 22nd Mar 2024
High school teachers say they are almost constantly interrupting lessons to ask pupils to put their mobile phones away.
Figures released by the Secondary School Teachers Association (SSTA) today show 92% of lessons are being disrupted, with kids mostly texting or taking pictures.
"13% of members said half their lessons were interrupted but more worryingly, 75% said the majority to all their lessons were interrupted.”
Seamus Searson, SSTA general secretary, said: “92% of members said their lessons were being interrupted by asking pupils to put away their mobile phones.
92% of lessons interrupted
When teachers were asked what their concerns were regarding the inappropriate use of mobile phones during lessons, the main issues highlighted were pupils having detachment issues and texting during lessons.
Other issues raised included taking photos, social media bullying, answering calls and viewing inappropriate content.
Teachers were also asked about their strategies to deal with the issue, with most reporting they would ask pupils to put phones away, or in school bags.
Around two-thirds of teachers said they would ask pupils to put the phone on the teachers desk if it was used, and only one in five ask pupils to put their phones in a box at the beginning of a lesson.
Conflicts
However, teachers say there are a range of conflicts that can arise if a phone is confiscated from a pupil.
Survey respondents said these methods including messages sent home to parents led to confrontation with pupils who have parental support not to give phones up.
It was also reported that claims of theft are made against school staff, and that many pupils need their phones to pay for school lunch.
However, the survey found more than half of teachers do agree mobile phones can be useful during lessons.
James Cowans, SSTA education convenor, said:“62% of members saw the benefits of using mobile phones in helping with lessons.
"In many cases this was due to the lack of access to other mobile devices or poor connectivity within the school.
"64% of members stated that wi-fi connection is variable to poor and 30% saying that they do not have access to a class set of mobile devices for use in their lessons”.
“72%, of schools have a mobile phones policy in place, to try and address issues but only 10% stated that the policy was extremely/very effective.
"Schools are struggling to implement successful mobile phone policies.
"There are several issues with implementing a policy such as inconsistency, legality, pupils conforming, no consequences, support from local authorities that need to be resolved.”
'Cons outweigh the pros'
Mr Searson added: “It would appear that the benefits of using mobile phones are now outweighed by the negative impact that they are having on learning and teaching, behaviour, attainment and achievement.
"Only 37% of members support a complete ban of mobile phones in school, however, the majority would support a mobile phone ban from the classroom and other parts of the school.
“Mobile phones are preventing teachers from teaching and creating problems for pupils that are on a scale many teachers and parents cannot imagine.
"The mobile phone is the most important possession to pupils and is taking over their lives and their futures."