Mobile phone ban in schools gives students more learning time, 'freedom away' from devices
Reporting on the rollout of a statewide phone ban across NSW public high schools, this ABC Newcastle piece follows students and a principal at Kotara High School describing life under a lockable-pouch phone policy, alongside commentary from Michael Carr-Gregg, identified as the psychologist who led the 2018 independent review that led to the earlier NSW primary-school ban. Carr-Gregg says schools that had already banned phones reported improved academic outcomes, fewer distractions, and more social interaction at recess and lunch, and argues growing public and political pressure made a national policy on the issue increasingly likely. The article notes several other states had already introduced similar bans. TechKids Foundation includes this as a five-years-later follow-up documenting the review's continuing influence on Australian school phone policy.
The article cites Griffith University School of Applied Psychology research finding students spend up to eight hours a day on devices, at least 40% of that on phones specifically.
Dickson, Laurise. "Mobile phone ban in schools gives students more learning time, 'freedom away' from devices." ABC News (ABC Newcastle), 10 October 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-11/phone-free-schools-hunter-region/102943532