VCU news

By VCU News staff

With their power to inform yet distract, cellphones in schools have become a hot issue in education and public policy.

Under gubernatorial order, Virginia recently developed guidance on cellphone-free education. School boards are expected to adopt policies and procedures by Jan. 1, 2025, and some have already restricted or banned phone use in schools. Various workgroups also are examining mobile phone policies in education.

As technology, including artificial intelligence, continues to expand, the role of cellphones intersects strongly with other issues in education – including pressure on teachers, expectations of parents and, of course, how to best educate today’s students amid the long shadows of the pandemic.

At Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Education, Jesse Senechal, Ph.D., is executive director of the Institute for Collaborative Research and Evaluation – it was established in 2023 as an expansion of the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium, a partnership between VCU and public school districts in the Richmond area. Senechal is also a former high school teacher in Richmond and Chicago.

VCU News asked him for some insight into the cellphone issue.

From research overall, what are some of the current takeaways related to cellphones in school?

Related to the current policy discussions, there are generally two bodies of research that are of interest: research on the impacts of cellphones on student academic performance, and the impacts of cellphones on student mental health.

In the first case, researchers consider the ways that cellphones impact the processes of teaching and learning. One of the claims supporting the movement toward restrictive policies is that cellphones are distractions in the classroom, making it hard for teachers to teach, and students to maintain focus on learning activities.

A second body of research examines the effects of cellphone-based apps that employ addictive algorithms on student mental health. Discussions of this topic have been elevated by the work of Johnathan Haidt, in his book “The Anxious Generation,” as well as recent statements from the surgeon general around the dangers of social media.

When taken as a whole, the research suggests that there is reason for concern. However, it must be noted that the research is not conclusive. It is generally correlational and comes with caveats. For example, there is evidence that in certain cases, cellphones can support student learning, and social media has beneficial mental health effects for some student subgroups. The effects of cellphones vary across age, gender and other identity variables. All of this points to the need for more research.

We might reflexively say cellphones are “bad” in the classroom, but how are they valuable tools – including in ways we might not think about?

This is an important point. As we all know, the cellphone is so much more than a phone. Cellphones include many tools that could be useful in classroom contexts, including cameras, microphones, GPS, stopwatches, calculators and rulers.

It is also worth noting that cellphones are increasingly an integral part of 21st-century social, economic and political life. As schools seek to prepare students for citizenship, we may ask if the responsible use of cellphone technologies should be part of that preparation.

In that vein, are there nuances to how teachers think about cellphones that we, outside of the classroom, might overlook?

I spend a lot of time working directly with teachers. From that, I can say that teachers are eager for the development of thoughtful policy from the district and school level. They witness, on a daily basis, the power of cellphones to distract, as well as the negative effects of these technologies on student mental health. At the same time, I also know of teachers who have successfully integrated cellphones into instruction in ways that have opened up possibilities for learning.

As we move forward with the development of policy related to cellphone use in schools, my primary recommendation is to center teachers’ voices in the conversation. Their firsthand experience and expertise is essential to the development of thoughtful policy.

As a former public school teacher and current research specialist, what keeps you up at night when you think about cellphones in the classroom – and what allows you to sleep easily?

I will start by saying that I am encouraged that there is a dialogue occurring on this issue.

Unlike many of the politicized debates consuming public education right now, this is a topic that is of broad interest across communities and across stakeholders. Teachers want solutions; parents want solutions; policymakers across the political spectrum are elevating this as a critical topic. 

My biggest worry is that the policies we develop will be put forward hastily without attention to the complexity of the issue, and without resources to support successful implementation. This could lead to unintended consequences, including the exacerbation of existing inequalities. As a researcher, I also worry that these policy interventions will not include support for research and evaluation that could provide an evidence base for future policies.

The moves that are being made on this front are big. This is good. However, because they are big, we need to make sure we do it well and in ways that support the success and well-being of all students.