Poll shows national, provincial support for ban on cellphones in classrooms

As public school students in Quebec are in the first month of cellphone restrictions in the classroom and Ontario looks to strengthen its largely unenforced policy, a new survey shows that eight of every 10 Canadians support a ban on the devices in classrooms.

The numbers in Nova Scotia, albeit with a smaller sample size, are similar to the national results, said Margaret Chapman of Narrative Research.

Of the 117 respondents in this province, 80 per cent said they completely or somewhat were in favour of a ban.

The results for approving a ban were highest in Quebec at 88 per cent, while only 74 per cent were in favour in British Columbia.

Only 15 per cent of respondents nationally were completely opposed to a ban.

The main reasons for Nova Scotia respondents who supported a ban were reducing distractions at 83 per cent, while 31 per cent said it would encourage more focus on studies. The top results were the same across the country.

Other reasons were respecting school policies, improving student teacher engagement and promoting face-to-face communication.

Among the few nationally who would oppose a cellphone ban in public schools, reasons include that cellphones promote personal responsibility and discipline, provide educational benefits, or that phones allow for parental communication in emergencies.

Stacey Rudderham of the group Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education said the issue has come up in conversations within the group, but there is no position right now. She said there are some who see cellphones as needed as an educational tool and because of violence in schools.

“Kids have the technology to be able to share what is happening in schools, and now that parents have a whiff of that, they are hard against losing access to what is going on in schools,” Rudderham said.

That includes students being able to call their friends or for help if they are being bullied or assaulted.

“Parents want to know what is happening in schools, and that seems to be their lifeline to knowing what’s happening,” Rudderham said.