  {"id":45336,"date":"2023-08-23T09:58:09","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T13:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/?p=45336"},"modified":"2025-06-11T09:08:55","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T13:08:55","slug":"associate-professor-louis-philippe-beland-quoted-in-article-from-the-conversation-about-smartphone-use-in-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/2023\/associate-professor-louis-philippe-beland-quoted-in-article-from-the-conversation-about-smartphone-use-in-classrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"Associate Professor Louis-Philippe Beland Quoted in Article from The Conversation about Smartphone Use in Classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n            <div class=\"cu-textmedia flex flex-col lg:flex-row mx-auto gap-6 md:gap-10 my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 max-w-5xl\">\n        <div class=\"justify-start cu-textmedia-content cu-prose-first-last\" style=\"flex: 0 0 100%;\">\n            <header class=\"font-light prose-xl cu-pageheader md:prose-2xl cu-component-updated cu-prose-first-last\">\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold !mt-2 mb-4 md:mb-6 relative after:absolute after:h-px after:bottom-0 after:bg-cu-red after:left-px text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] pb-5 after:w-10 text-cu-black-700 not-prose\">\n                        Associate Professor Louis-Philippe Beland Quoted in Article from The Conversation about Smartphone Use in Classrooms\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                                \n                            <\/header>\n\n                    <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/people\/beland-louis-philippe\/\">Associate Professor Louis-Philippe Beland<\/a> is one of four scholars who were asked by publication <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/ca\">The Conversation<\/a> whether or not smartphones should be allowed in classrooms. Here is his response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"louis-philippe-beland-bans-help-low-achieving-students-the-most\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Louis-Philippe Beland: Bans help low-achieving students the most<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Numerous studies indicate that low-achieving students stand to benefit the most from the implementation of mobile phone bans in schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a 2015 study, my co-author,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.richardmurphy.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Richard Murphy<\/a>, and I&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.labeco.2016.04.004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">examined the impact of banning mobile phones on student performance<\/a>&nbsp;in high schools, using data from England. By comparing schools with phone bans to similar schools without the bans, we isolated the effect of mobile phones on performance. Our study found that banning mobile phones significantly increased test scores among 16-year-old students. The effect is equivalent to adding five days to the school year or an extra hour per week. Low-achieving students benefited more, while high-achieving students remained unaffected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similar&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/AEA-05-2021-0112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">studies in Spain<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/openaccess.nhh.no\/nhh-xmlui\/bitstream\/handle\/11250\/3069282\/_%2016_00464-33%20thesis_abrahamsson%20732139_2_1.PDF?sequence=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Norway<\/a>&nbsp;using a similar approach demonstrated compelling evidence supporting the benefits of banning mobile phones. In Spain, grades improved and bullying incidents decreased. In Norway, the ban raised middle school students\u2019 grade-point averages and their likelihood of attending academic high schools while reducing bullying. Evidence from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/kykl.12214\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Belgium<\/a>&nbsp;suggests banning mobile phones can be beneficial for college student performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Psychological research sheds light on potential mechanisms behind the impact of mobile phones and technology on student performance. Multitasking, common with mobile phone use, has been found to hinder&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.0903620106\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">learning and task execution<\/a>. Taking notes by hand has been shown to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/03634523.2013.767917\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">better enhance memory retention<\/a>&nbsp;compared to typing on a computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In sum, banning mobile phones in schools can yield positive effects, improve academic performance and narrow the achievement gap between high- and low-achieving students. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that mobile phones and technology can also be valuable educational tools when used appropriately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/story\/smartphones-in-classrooms-pros-cons\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor Beland&#8217;s research was also cited in the Globe and Mail on September 1, 2023. Read that article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/opinion\/article-cellphones-have-taken-over-our-schools-and-its-been-a-disaster-for-our\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Associate Professor Louis-Philippe Beland is one of four scholars who were asked by publication The Conversation whether or not smartphones should be allowed in classrooms. Here is his response: Louis-Philippe Beland: Bans help low-achieving students the most Numerous studies indicate that low-achieving students stand to benefit the most from the implementation of mobile phone bans [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45336"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45360,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45336\/revisions\/45360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}