Italy prohibits use of mobile phones in elite school settings
Phones Out in Italian Classrooms Starting This School Year
Disconnecting to connect – teenagers will have to Leave their smartphones in lockers during lessons in Italian schools from September onwards. This new regulation, announced by Italy's Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, aims to create a quieter, less distracting learning environment.
Rome – Joining many European nations, Italy will now enforce a mobile phone ban in upper classes during lessons. The decision, effective from the start of the 2022-2023 academic year, follows the minister's announcement after summer holidays. Previously, the mobile phone usage was already prohibited up to around age 15, but exceptions are still possible for students with disabilities.
The "Ministry of School and Merit" (previously the Ministry of Education), now under the right-wing nationalist party Lega, introduced this policy to limit the disruptive consequences of phones during classroom hours. Studies reveal that uncontrolled phone usage can be detrimental to students' health, mental well-being, and academic performance. Consequently, from this school year, students will be required to secure their phones in separate compartments before classes.
No More Phones in the Classroom: Why?
A long-standing mobile phone ban applies in Italian schools, albeit less strictly enforced. With stricter regulations poised to combat the distraction from digital devices in the classroom, Italy continues a broader European trend focusing on improving learning outcomes. Countries like Germany share similar approaches, in which schools decide on whether to restrict or ban mobile phone use during class to minimize disruptions. Variation exists across German schools, with some requiring phones to be turned off or kept aside during lessons, while others mandate extensive bans throughout the school day.
Italy's decision to reinforce this rule underscores the growing understanding of the negative impact of smartphone-related distractions on education. By eliminating a common source of distraction in the classroom, policymakers likely hope to foster a more conducive learning atmosphere where students pay greater attention to their lessons and enhance their overall academic performance.
The policy-and-legislation focused "Ministry of School and Merit" under the right-wing nationalist party Lega in Italy has introduced stricter mobile phone usage regulations in schools, with the aim of limiting distractions in education-and-self-development.
The new rule, part of a broader general-news trend across Europe, follows numerous studies revealing that uncontrolled phone usage can negatively affect students' health, mental well-being, and academic performance, prompting the need for policy changes in the realm of politics.
