The Alberta government has put a policy in place for the 24-25 school year restricting the use of mobile devices during class time and social media use in schools in an effort to improve students' academic achievement and mental health. However, certain individuals believe that the policy is not effective in one way or another. 

In this project I researched the requirements of the phone policy, how phone policies can be beneficial to students, as well as some additional problems such as the issue of bullying in schools. In addition, I surveyed students and teachers about the phone policy.

Hypothesis: Due to its already familiar nature, the basic cellphone policy established by the government is effective. However, newly implemented additional restrictions do more harm than good.

The survey used back in April-May 2024

1. Question 1: What are the first three characters of your postal code? (to determine where they live)
2. Question 2: How old are you?
3. Question 5: When should students be allowed to use cellphones in schools?
4. Question 6: There should be designated areas in schools where cellphone use is allowed outside of the classroom. (e.g., common areas, etc.)
5. Question 7: There should be different approaches to cellphone use in schools for students in different grades
6. Questions 8-11: Should students be allowed to use cellphones at school? (By grades)
7. Question 12: Are there any other situations where students should be allowed to use cellphones in schools?
8. Question 13 Cellphones in schools impact students' academic achievement:
9. Question 14: Cellphones in schools increase the number of bullying incidents that occur.
10. Question 15: What is your overall level of concern about student cellphone use at school
11. Question 16: Please choose the role that represents the opinions you would like to provide (e.g. your perspective as a parent or teacher)/Which of the following best describes your primary role? 
12. Question 17: I am a parent or guardian to children in grades: 
13. Question 18: Does your child's school have a cellphone use policy in place? 
14. Question 19: To your knowledge, is the cellphone use policy consistently enforced?
15. Question 20: Does your child have a cellphone? 
16. Question 21: My child is allowed to use their cellphone in the classroom.
17. Question 22:  My child's teacher asks them to use their cellphone during class for educational purposes
18. Question 23: What do you support your child using a cellphone for while at school? (Base: Parents and guardians)
19. Question 24: I feel more comfortable when my child has access to their cellphone during class time. 
20. Question 25: Having a cellphone impacts my child's mental health:
21. Question 26: Having a cellphone impacts my child's physical activity
22. Question 27: What is your overall level of concern about the impact of your child's cellphone use at school?
23. Question 28: What grades are taught in your school(s)?
24. Question 29: Students are allowed to use cellphones in the classrooms at my school(s). 
25. Question 30: Does your school(s) have a cellphone use policy in place?
26. Question 31: Are you responsible for enforcing the cellphone policy in your role? 
27. Question 32/34: [In your experience / to your knowledge], is the cellphone use policy consistently enforced? 
28. Question 33: In a typical school day, how often do you have to enforce the cellphone use policy?
29. Question 35: In your school(s), is there a secure place where students can store their cellphone outside of the classroom?
30. Question 36: What grade(s) do you teach (amongst those in class)?
31. Question 37: I allow students to use cellphones in the classroom:
32. Question 38: I ask students to use cellphones for educational purposes in the classroom: 
33. Question 39: Classroom cellphone use significantly impacts my ability to teach students.
34. Question 40: Student cellphone use significantly impacts my ability to manage my classroom.
35. Question 41: Using cellphones for educational purposes enhances students’ learning experience.
36. Question 42: Having a cellphone impacts students’ physical activity: 
37. Question 43: Having a cellphone impacts students’ mental health: 
38. Question 44: What should students be allowed to use their cellphones for while at school? (Base: teachers, principals, administration, support staff, school board trustees) 
39. Question 45: Are there any other situations where students are allowed to use cellphones during class time?
40. Question 46: Is there anything else you would like to share about student cellphone use in schools? 

*questions 3 and 4 could not be found

Note: they did not survey individuals under the age of 18. 

 

Government requirements:

• Limit mobile device use during instructional time
• Limit access to social media on school wifi and devices

Additional requirements (some flexibility):

• Mobile device storage location
• What is considered social media
• Roles and responsibilities of students, parents, and staff in enforcing policy
• Consequences for breaking rules and requirement to contact parents
• Informing parents and students of policy
• Mandatory exceptions set out by provincial standards

Mandatory exceptions:

• Mobile device use must be permitted for health/medical reasons or to support special learning needs
• Device use and limited social media may be permitted for educational purposes

Timing

• Policy in place as of September 1, 2024
• Policy must be finalized by January 1, 2025

 

Ministerial Order Comments

• “use of personal mobile devices in schools can be a source of distraction that can negatively impact children's and students' mental health, engagement, and learning”
• “students are entitled to welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments that respect diversity and nurture a sense of belonging and a positive sense of self, and the use of personal mobile devices can be used to harm, bully, and otherwise compromise this environment”
• “the Government of Alberta wishes to improve learning outcomes by supporting a distraction-free learning environment that promotes children's and students' wellbeing and limits opportunities for bullying”

Therefore, “effective” defined would be that students are in a better mental state (more happy, motivated, content) and learned more material (better grades, better knowledge retention) than before the phone policy

To start off with the most important fact, it is not possible to force someone to change. They must be willing to do it on their own. 

Many schools have tried to scare students into following the policy. However, this is not effective. Fear is forced while respect is earned. Someone who leads with fear has a weak system that can easily break, as fear puts people in survival mode. It sets people on edge and distracts them from important tasks. As stated by the government, this is not what should be happening. If this is the case then the school was probably better off without the phone policy, which was implemented to improve students mental health and academic achievement. Respect, on the other hand, includes clear and honest communication which is effective in problem solving.

Enacting overly strict restrictions will not scare students into complying. Rather, they are just as, if not more distracted in class, thinking about how to get their phone back. Students must genuinely understand and respect the importance of education in order for them to be able to put their phones aside during class time. Teachers can do this through having open discussions and explaining to the students the benefits of focusing on their schoolwork.

Humans want to be independent and autonomous, wanting to be the ones in charge of decision making. No one likes being controlled by other people. Psychological reactance is the desire to do the opposite of what you’re told when there is a threat to your freedom. This is often you trying to protect your ego and not show vulnerability. You may feel annoyed or angry when guidelines are put in place, especially if you believe they are unnecessary or don’t make sense. Sometimes, this can lead to you doing the opposite of what you’re told.

It is relatively easy for the average student to understand the reasoning behind not being allowed to use a cellphone for entertainment in class, as it clearly disrupts their learning. However, newly implemented restrictions and guidelines have confused students more than anything else. It is important for teachers to remember that students will not have the knowledge of a psychologist and do not automatically understand every rule that is implemented. Therefore, it is important to explain to students the reasoning behind the rules in order to get them to better understand and be more willing to comply. 

What exactly is being "addicted" to one's cellphone, as stated by the government? Addiction is the act of repeatedly involving oneself with an activity despite negative consequences. Cellphone use is a behavioral addiction. Symptoms include being unable to stop and control their behavior and are extremely focused on the activity. Humans inherently seek rewards. Your body produces dopamine which makes you feel good. You then repeat the activity because you want to feel good more often. Certain activities such as cellphone use can send massive amounts of dopamine to your brain, replacing your healthier habits. With regards to the cellphone policy, some students have become addicted to their phones, finding excuses to leave the class in order to use their cellphones or trying to sneak them during class time, as they are unable to stay away from their phones for the duration of the class.

Canada's phone policy was only implemented at the beginning of the 24-25 school year, but many other countries have had phone policies around for longer. For example, France has prohibited cellphones in schools since 2018. The policy states that students are not allowed to use phones at school or connect any device to the internet. If a phone goes off in class, the teacher will confiscate it, and the student is given a detention. However, students have found other ways to use their phone at school, especially during lunch time, which is two hours rather than approximately 40 minutes in Canada. As of 2024, France is looking to create a new rule of students turning in their phones at the beginning of the day, however, many people have expressed the concern that it would be “complicated to implement.”

Similar to many other European countries, Spain has also implemented a relatively strict phone policy. Phones are not allowed at preschools and primary schools. As for the higher grades, the specific phone policy varies by region. The policies all restrict cellphone use greatly, with some schools having a complete ban and others requiring students to keep their phone on silent and away for the entire school day, sometimes with the exception of using them for educational purposes. Currently, schools are looking into locking phones into pouches for the whole day.

In Australia, the phone policy has been implemented since 2023, and also varies by region. Some schools do not allow cellphone use during class time for higher grades, and other schools require students to keep their cellphones away for the entire school day. Certain schools also require students to lock their phones in pouches. There are no mandatory exceptions, but individuals may be allowed to use a cellphone for health reasons, special education needs, language translation, or other personal circumstances. This particular policy has proved to be effective, as students are more focused during class and socialize more often. 

Studies show that screen time improved exam scores. However, this may be regarding screen time overall, not just at school, as a different study done in the UK showed that students who had cellphone policies in schools, on average, still spent just as much time on their phones as those who did not. As such, there was no difference in the mental states, physical activity, and academic achievement between these students.

Additional restrictions have not been shown to be scientifically backed up. For example, having a designated area for an activity is allegedly helpful in sending your brain signals that it is time to do a certain task. However, there is limited evidence in supporting this claim. As such, a designated area for a task, while not detrimental, is not helpful in improving focus.

In regards to bullying and mental health, results are conflicted. Some studies show that phones increase bullying, while others say they reduce bullying. Another aspect of this is that phones can be used to cyberbully others, but can also be a great support in both gathering evidence and reaching out to others when being bullied. Similarly, phones may improve or deteriorate mental health. It depends on how people use it. Social media creates unrealistic ideals for some people, but can also be a place where people can find support in knowing they are not alone in their experiences. It can also provide a way for people to find support through helplines if they prefer not to communicate verbally. Ultimately, whether students will experience improved mental health and decreased bullying is not dependent on if their school has a phone policy. 

The solution is not as simple as abruptly stopping cellphone use in schools. Studies have shown that there is no additional universally helpful restriction beyond not letting students use their phones for personal reasons in class. Additionally, people who are recovering from addiction will experience withdrawal symptoms, such as being irritable, restless, sad, angry, and may feel anxiety and desire to do the activity again. In addition, any sort of major change is difficult, especially for a child. Change forces us to go beyond what we are comfortable with. Therefore, changing more than one thing at a time creates additional challenges. It also requires time, and as such, patience. It's not uncommon for social media to already be blocked on school WiFi throughout Canada, but locking up mobile devices, as some schools are doing, is a major change for most students. They may be used to being off their phones for one class, but they are not used to going a whole day without it. In order to help students recover from the negative effects of cellphones, it is important to be clear and definitive, and setting out a way to measure the goal, such as an increased grade average throughout the school. It is crucial to not give up if there is not immediate progress and continue to test and/or implement new strategies to help students be as engaged as possible. When recovering from an addiction, it is important to recognize it, identify the causes, and make a plan to change. Helpful strategies include replacing the unhealthy activity with healthier ones, preferably ones that reach the same goal and solve the same problem, and having people around to support them. Most importantly, they must genuinely want to change. Ultimately, if the government wants to truly create a more safe and effective learning environment for students, they must find ways to implement anti-bullying measures on top of the existing phone policy, as well as teach students about the importance of their education.  

Certain questions of the survey are from Alberta Education.

6. To your knowledge, when are students allowed to use cellphones at school? (Select all that apply)

Student version:

*something strange happened with this one where it only shows five responses, presumably the other 9 said “no”

 

My hypothesis was somewhat correct in that the basic policy of no cellphone usage in class proved to be effective, social media restrictions didn't change much, and additional restrictions causing more harm than good. However, the issue extends beyond student cellphone usage in schools. Despite the limitation of only surveying a total of nineteen people, the contradictory answers given in the surveys suggest that many people, teachers included, indicate a lack of clear communication amongst students and staff. Many people also answered the questions strangely, as in they misunderstood what it was asking, providing less reliable results. 

The survey did not provide much evidence regarding whether or not the phone policy was effective. Many responses turned out to be contradictory, such as students and/or supporting a restriction but not finding it helpful in any way. What I did conclude, however, is that administration must be more clear in their expectations regarding this policy, for the remainder of this school year, as well as if it continues past the 24-25 school year.

The best solution differs between each individual student, but as a whole, it would be beneficial for teachers to have educated discussions with students regarding not only cellphone usage, but also mental health and achieving academic excellence, as both issues stem from more than cellphone use. It is important that the students do not feel they are being forced to comply. The true effective solution would be to get students to genuinely understand and respect the importance of education, as well as kindness, empathy, compassion, and the damage bullying can cause others. Until students truly understand and wish to acquire the best quality education they can get, and until they recognize the damage bullying causes, the issues the government has been trying to solve will continue to persist.

Government research

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Alberta Education

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(N.d.-a). Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/

(N.d.-b). Retrieved March 21, 2025, from

https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/Documents/MinOrders/2024/Education/

 

Images

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Research

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Wu, W., Chen, Y., Xiuying Shi, Lv, H., Bai, R., Guo, Z., Yu, L., Liu, Y., Jianping Liu, Chen, Y., & Zeng, Y. (2022). The Mobile Phone Addiction and Depression Among High School Students: The Roles of Cyberbullying Victimization, Perpetration, and Gender. In Frontiers in psychology (Vol. 13, pp. 845355–845355). Frontiers in psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.845355

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Survey was created using Google Forms

I would like to thank the science fair coordinators, Ms. Fan and Ms. McKeown, as well as the students and teachers who participated in the survey to help make this project possible.