The PISA 2022 report has also dedicated a section to one of the topics that has generated the most debate in recent weeks: the impact of the use of smartphones and tablets on learning and the need for regulation in high school classrooms.
And he concludes that it does affect, because students claim to be more distracted if they have their cell phone nearby, if they use it or if a classmate does it. On the other hand, young people show greater anxiety when they leave school if cell phones are prohibited at school.
"The OECD does not recommend a general ban, rather it invites countries to develop policies that allow students to make appropriate and moderate use in school for the purpose of learning," explained this morning OECD analyst Daniel Salinas. . "Moderate because there is an obvious impact on concentration, the greater the frequency of use, the greater the deconcentration."
"Prohibiting has other consequences such as anxiety outside the center," he stated. Likewise, there is a risk of social exclusion for a part of the young population.
In this regard, the Secretary of State, José Manuel Bar, has indicated that we are at the beginning of a "deep-reaching" debate and that a "social agreement" would be necessary with the participation of administrations, associations and even with the operators. of mobiles.
In his opinion, safe, educational use with rules would be positive, but not the other way around. And in this context, "it is outside the educational center that mobile phone use is more uncontrollable, less safe and less educational."
The secretary's reflection, during the presentation of the PISA report, is that "we must not stop the arrival of the future or try to return to the past but rather manage the future well."
Although PISA is in favor of the “intentional integration” of technological devices in education, the report warns that smartphones, which it defines as “highly addictive” can “distract attention from learning,” they state. to “cyberbullying” and “compromise” the privacy of those who use it.
The report, in which 690,000 students and 21,621 centers have participated - 30,800 are Spanish students and 966 Spanish educational centers - points out that 33% of Spanish students claim that they are distracted in mathematics class using digital devices, three points more than the half.
On average, 65% of students acknowledged being “distracted” by using phones or digital devices and 45% felt “nervous.”
And they are distracted by its use, but also by having a partner use it. Thus, students who reported being distracted by peers using mobile devices in some, all, or most math classes scored 15 points lower on the PISA math tests. This is equivalent, the report notes, to “three-quarters of a year of education.”
The challenge, according to experts, is to achieve a productive integration of digital technologies in the learning environment, but at the same time minimize their potential for distraction. And although for specialists the ban will not "necessarily" solve the problems, they do ask for regulation.
Because the prohibition also has undesirable effects: they are less distracted in class, but it can lead to compulsive use when leaving the classroom. According to the data provided, 29% of OECD students who cannot take their cell phones to school use them several times a day.
In addition, 21% do it daily at the center, breaking the rules. On the other hand, students who cannot use their phones in class find it easier to deactivate notifications and applications when they go to sleep.
The results of the PISA 2022 educational quality evaluation prepared by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) are the first to measure the impact of the pandemic and have determined that Spanish students who suffered confinement in the 2nd year of ESO, They have lost the equivalent of a course in reading and a half of mathematics compared to ten years ago.
