Teachers from all regions in Croatia overwhelmingly support the ban on the use of cell phones in schools, while student responses indicate a diversity of attitudes, with older students being more critical of the restriction, according to a survey by the Institute for Social Research.

Among teachers, of whom more than 85% strongly support or support the idea of ​​banning the use of cell phones, subject teachers strongly support the ban to a slightly greater extent (37.2%) compared to  1st to 4th grade teachers (30.5%), according to the survey, conducted in May and June 2022.

No gender differences were observed in the frequency of individual responses.

A total of 1,705 teachers, 3,706 fifth graders, and 3,866 seventh graders from 84 elementary schools in Croatia participated in the research, and the findings are presented in the report “Banning? – The use of mobile phones in primary schools of the Republic of Croatia from the perspective of teachers and students”.

Teachers in Dalmatia (40%), Istria and Primorje (39.3%) and the Zagreb region (38%) lead the way in strongly supporting the ban on the use of cell phones in schools. These are small differences, the results show that teachers from all regions in Croatia (Northwest, Istria and Primorje, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Zagreb region and Central Croatia) dominantly support the ban.

Most strongly oppose or oppose the ban in Slavonia (19.8%), and most strongly oppose the ban those in Northwestern Croatia (4.4%).

Teachers of Physical and Health Education (46.6%) and Computer Science (45.4%) strongly support the ban on the use of cell phones in schools to a slightly greater extent.

Younger students divided on issue of ban

Fifth grade students are divided on the issue of banning the use of cell phones in schools (47.4% strongly oppose or oppose the ban, while 52.6% of students support or strongly support the ban).

In the seventh grade, the majority of students oppose or strongly oppose the ban (68.9%), while slightly less than a third of seventh graders support or strongly support the ban on cell phone use in schools.

In fifth and seventh grade students, no gender differences were observed in the answers, as well as differences depending on the students’ school performance, the report states.

The results show that in both generations the number of students who support or do not support the ban on the use of cell phones in schools is equal in all regions.

Differences in students’ responses depending on the educational status of a parent (father) were also analysed, and the results show that there is no statistically significant difference in support or opposition to the ban on the use of cell phones in schools depending on the educational status of the father, neither among fifth nor seventh grade students.

Data from seventh-grade students indicate that they are dominantly opposed or strongly opposed to the ban on the use of mobile phones in schools, regardless of whether their father graduated from elementary school, high school, or college.