Exploring the views of parents and teachers regarding smartphhone use by students in one Beijing middle school

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: 1. What are the teachers’ perceptions regarding students’ smartphone use at school? 2. What are the parents’ perceptions regarding students’ smartphone use at school and at home? 3. What are the perceptions of parents and teachers regarding the school’s practice in managing smartphone use? ABSTRACT: In recent years, smartphones have become an inevitable device used by young people in schools because of the smartphones’ portability and versatility. However, middle school students as a special group are not mature so they are easily attracted by network information which could lead to the excessive use of smartphones and cause many problems. Thus, the topic of smartphone use by middle school students and school’s management practice related to this is a topic that is of interest to both parents and teachers. This research was conducted to explore the views of parents and teachers regarding smartphone use by students in one Beijing middle school in China. Using a qualitative approach, six teachers and six parents from this middle school participated in two focus group interviews respectively for this study. The three key research questions guiding this study were: What are the teachers’ perceptions regarding students’ smartphone use at school? What are the parents’ perceptions regarding students’ smartphone use at school and at home? and What are the perceptions of parents and teachers regarding the school’s practice in managing smartphone use? Findings from this research reveal that it is an inevitable trend for students to own a smartphone however, it is also seen that overusing smartphones will lead to negative influences on students’ physical health and behaviour. Therefore, managing smartphone use has become a concern for teachers and parents, and simply banning phones in school may not be the best solution. This research highlights the need for a partnership between the Ministry of Education, school leaders, teachers and parents to develop and implement a comprehensive programme of managing smartphone use by middle school students effectively, which is contextual, practical, supportive and underpinned by theoretical knowledge