Parents' mobile use harms family life, say secondary pupils

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nParents who continually check their mobiles can leave children feeling upset and ignored, suggests research

By Judith Burns Education reporter

An overuse of mobile phones by parents disrupts family life, according to a survey of secondary pupils.

More than a third of 2,000 11 to 18-year-olds who responded to a poll said they had asked their parents to stop checking their devices.

And 14% said their parents were online at meal times, although 95% of 3,000 parents, polled separately, denied it.

The research was carried out by Digital Awareness UK and the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

Among the pupils:

• 82% felt meal times should be device-free
• 22% said the use of mobiles stopped their families enjoying each other's company
• 36% had asked their parents to put down their phones

Of pupils who had asked their parents to put down their phones, 46% said their parents took no notice while 44% felt upset and ignored.

Despite this, only a minority of parents (10%) believed their mobile use was a concern for their children - although almost half (43%) felt they spent too much of their own time online:

• 37% said they were online between three and five hours a day at weekends
• 5% said it could be up to 15 hours a day over a weekend

Research last year by DAUK and HMC showed almost half of secondary pupils were checking their mobile phones after they had gone to bed, amid warnings that they were arriving at school tired and unable to concentrate.

According to the new research, almost three-quarters of pupils (72%) said they were online between three and 10 hours a day - but for 11% this could rise to 15 hours at weekends and holidays and 3% said it could reach 20 hours.

And children's greatest worry about their own online use was lack of sleep, with 47% highlighting it as a major concern.

But among parents, only 10% worried about children's time online leading to sleep deprivation.

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Image captionPupils worry about sleep deprivation through going online at night

Mike Buchanan, headmaster of Ashford School in Kent and chairman of the HMC, which represents leading private schools, said it was time for parents, teachers and pupils "to rewrite the rulebook" on mobile devices, which "have become an integral part of life at school, work and play".

"Our poll shows that children are aware of many of the risks associated with overuse of technology but they need the adults in their lives to set clear boundaries and role model sensible behaviour.

"To achieve this, we need to join up the dots between school and home and give consistent advice," said Mr Buchanan.

'Wake-up call'

Emma Robertson, co-founder of DAUK, said too few parents knew how long their children were online, particularly at night, "or what they are actually doing online".

"We hope these findings will be a wake-up call for families and motivate them to have serious conversations about the safe and healthy use of technology," she said.

The research comes ahead of the HMC's spring conference, which will explore new ways of working between schools and families in both the state and independent sectors.

Parents and pupils at a leading academy chain, which runs both state and private schools in England, were invited to take part in the research earlier this month.

Applying Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs In Our Classrooms

By Tony Kline, Ph.D.

simple truth:

Before expecting students to reach their potential, teachers need to meet students at their current levels.

research tells us:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a popular motivation theory that is widely referred to in educational circles.  In this theory, Abraham Maslow suggested that before individuals meet their full potential, they need to satisfy a series of needs.  It's important to note that Maslow based his theory more on philosophy than on scientific evidence.  If interested, you can find limitations of this theory here.  However, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs can provide teachers a reminder and framework that our students are less likely to perform at their full potential if their basic needs are unmet.

At times it can be confusing to apply theory into the practical realities of a classroom.  So let's talk specifics.  We may have a limited influence on the home lives of our students.  Though once they enter our school, we have the opportunity to assess student needs and then work to adapt our instruction to meet their needs.  Below are the general stages in order and descriptions of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

Are any students entering our classroom without their Physiological needs met?  Is this student getting all of their basic physical needs met?  These basic needs include food, water, sleep, oxygen, and warmth.  If all students have these needs met, the next stage is Safety.  How safe and secure does this student feel in their home?  What about in our school, and specifically in our classroom?

Do all students have a feeling of Love & Belonging in our classroom? Does each student feel that they belong to a group?  Do they have strong relationships with their peers?  The next stage is Esteem.  Do all students feel good about themselves?  Are we giving powerful verbal feedback to support their self-esteem?  Do they believe that their peers think positively about them?

Maslow's final stage is Self-Actualization.  In theory, if students have all of the previous stages met, they can achieve and create at their full potential.  Do we automatically assume that all students should be achieving at their full potential once they enter the classroom?  We know that this is not a reality, we just need to look at ourselves when we're impacted by any of the characteristics noted above.

try this:

• To support our students' physiological needs, we can ensure that all students have access to water in their rooms.  Water bottles are a simple solution and research shows the many benefits of hydrated students.
• To support our students physiological needs, we can ensure that we have nutritious snacks available.  Foods with slow-burning complex carbohydrates (such as granola bars) can help students sustain energy levels throughout the morning or afternoon.
• To support our students physiological needs, we can ensure that if a student is in desperate need of sleep, they are allowed to take a short nap at school.  If not, research indicates that sleep-deprived students learn less and may even disrupt the learning of others.
• To support our students' safety needs, we can continuously equip students and monitor the climate of our classroom to decrease bullying.
• To support our students' love and belonging needs, would all students feel like our classroom has a family or close-knit feel?  Are we actively making sitting arrangements and putting students in groups where they feel supported?
• To support our students' esteem needs, we need to provide affirmative, concrete, and transparentfeedback so that students know their specific strengths and can articulate when they've used them to succeed in our classrooms.  Do we create opportunity for peers to share specific positive feedback with each other?
• In theory, when we support students in all of those stages noted, students can perform at their fullest potential, which is the self-actualization stage.  Do we always expect students to perform at their best, even if they are in need of support in lower stages?

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Pupils need internet lessons to thrive online, say Lords

By Judith BurnsEducation reporter

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Learning to survive in a world dominated by the internet should be as important for children as reading and writing, says a House of Lords report.

Lessons about online responsibilities, risks and acceptable behaviour should be mandatory in all UK schools, the Lords Communications Committee argues.

The internet is "hugely beneficial" but children need awareness of its hazards, said committee chairman Lord Best.

Industry leaders said education was key to keeping children safe online.

The Lords report builds on findings by the Children's Commissioner for Englandin January that the internet is not designed for children, despite them being the biggest users by age group.

"Children inhabit a world in which every aspect of their lives is mediated through technology: from health to education, from socialising to entertainment.

"Yet the recognition that children have different needs to those of adults has not yet been fully accepted in the online world," say the Lords.

Fake news

Lord Best added: "There is a lot of material which makes the internet harmful but it can also be hugely beneficial - a way for children to interact and find out about the world."

However, they need to cope with online pornography, internet grooming, sexting and body image issues, he said, as well as building resilience to the addictive properties of internet games which are "designed and developed to keep users online, missing out on sleep as they stay in their bedrooms glued to the screen".

Children also need to be aware of the dangers of fake news and covert advertising online, he added.

The report argues that "digital literacy should be the fourth pillar of a child's education alongside reading, writing and mathematics and be resourced and taught accordingly".

It should form the core of a new curriculum for personal social health and economic education, it adds.

It backs the government's move to make sex and relationships education statutory in England but says PSHE should also be mandatory in all schools, with the subject included in inspections.

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Image captionToo many teens miss out on sleep as they stay online 'glued to the screen' said Lord Best

The report notes "a worrying rise in unhappy and anxious children emerging alongside the upward trend of childhood internet use" and calls for more robust research into a "possible causal relationship" alongside immediate action to prevent children being affected.

Overall, the report says the internet should "do more to promote children's best interests" but found self regulation by industry was "failing" and that commercial interests "very often" took priority.

Meanwhile, it adds, government responsibility is "fragmented" with little co-ordinated policy and joined-up action.

Other recommendations include:

• Content control filters and privacy settings to be "on" by default for all customers
• All online businesses to respond quickly to requests by children to remove content
• A children's digital champion to be appointed to argue for their rights at the highest levels of government
• An industry summit, chaired by the prime minister, on redesigning the internet to serve children better

"This issue is of such critical importance for our children that the government, civil society and all those in the internet value chain must work together to improve the opportunities and support where the end user is a child," the Lords conclude.

The Internet Services Providers Association rejected calls for stronger regulation, while backing the report's call for better education.

James Blessing, who chairs the ISPA, said that the UK was regarded as a world leader in keeping children safe online "through a self-regulatory approach".

"We believe the most effective response is a joint approach based on education, raising awareness and technical tools," he said.

The government said it wanted to make the UK the safest place in the world for young people to go online.

"Ministers have begun work on a new internet safety strategy that will help make this a reality, and we will carefully consider the recommendations included in the Lords Communications Committee Report as part of this process," said a spokesman.

The Mind Set from BBC Bitesize: Smart advice from exam survivors

GCSEs and Nationals are just around the corner and revision is a priority for thousands of students. Exam anxiety is reportedly at record levels, so BBC Bitesize has stepped in. Last year, Bitesize asked students from across the UK what type of resources would help them deal with exam stress. The answer they gave us was short, shareable videos featuring young people who've recently taken their exams.   So that’s what we’re launching today at bbc.co.uk/mindset. The Mind Set is a group of twelve young people, from a range of social backgrounds, with mixed GCSE and Nationals results. What they have in common is the belief that they performed to their full potential, by developing the right mental attitude and taking practical steps to revise effectively. Across twelve short films and infographics, they offer advice on a range of topics, including getting started with revision, seeking support, keeping motivated, and maintaining self-confidence. Their advice is supported by an experienced team including a leading educationalist, a GP and a high-profile psychologist. Find out more on the The Mind Set website.

Guidance

Cloud software services: how schools should protect data

From:

Department for Education

Part of:

Buying for schools, Schools: departmental advice, and Running a school or college

First published:

24 October 2014

Last updated:

6 March 2017, see all updates

Applies to:

England

Data protection guidance for schools considering using cloud software services ('the cloud') to hold sensitive information.

Documents

Cloud (educational apps) software services and the Data Protection Act

Ref: DFE-00631-2014PDF, 416KB, 15 pages

Details

This is for:

• local authorities
• school leaders
• school staff
• governing bodies

It applies to:

• local-authority-maintained schools
• academies and free schools

What are Chromebooks and Google Classroom?

Computing GCSE 'leaves girls and poorer students behind'

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent

• 19 December 2016
 
• From the sectionTechnology
 
• 430comments

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A revolution is under way in the teaching of computer science in schools in England - but it risks leaving girls and pupils from poorer backgrounds and ethnic minorities behind. That's the conclusion of academics who've studied data about the move from ICT as a national curriculum subject to computer science.

Four years ago, amid general disquiet that ICT was teaching children little more than how Microsoft Office worked, the government took the subject off the national curriculum. The idea was that instead schools should move to offering more rigorous courses in computer science - children would learn to code rather than how to do PowerPoint.

But academics at Roehampton University, who compile an annual study of computing education, have some worrying news. First, just 28% of schools entered pupils for the GCSE in computing in 2015. At A-level, only 24% entered pupils for the qualification.

Then there's the evidence that girls just aren't being persuaded to take an interest - 16% of GCSE computing entrants in 2015 were female and the figure for the A-level was just 8.5% . The qualification is relatively new and more schools - and more girls, took it in 2016 - but female participation was still only 20% for the GCSE and 10% for the A-level.

It looks as though the few that did take the exams were very focused - girls got higher grades than boys in both the GCSE and the A-level.

Unsurprising

Carrie-Ann Philbin, a former computing teacher who works to engage children in coding at the Raspberry Pi Foundation, describes these figures as "disappointing but not surprising". She points out that we are at an early stage in developing computing education and things should improve.

But she also thinks that the way computing is often sold as if its only purpose is to turn out a generation of programmers is a problem. "This only alienates teenage girls who already have a negative idea of what it is to be a 'computer geek'."

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionThe girls that do study Computing perform better than boys in the exams

It also appears that poorer children and those from ethnic minorities are less likely to be getting the computing education the government says is vital if the UK is to have the skills it needs to compete in the digital era.

Pupils on free school meals made up just 19% of GCSE entrants, when they are 27% of the population, and just 3.6% of students were black when they make up 4.7% of that age group.

But wasn't the picture roughly similar for the old discredited ICT course? Well, no. While it is gradually being phased out, more pupils are still taking the ICT GCSE than computing, and the entrants are far more representative of the wider population. Forty-one per cent of GCSE entrants were female, and the exam had higher numbers of entries from children from low income and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Split emerging

"Computing and ICT had really quite different groups of students taking them," says Miles Berry from Roehampton. "ICT was much closer to the average in terms of gender, low income, ethnicity and prior attainment in maths."

His colleague Peter Kemp says diversity in the kind of children getting computing education is important. "We need to make sure that computer science becomes a subject at least as inclusive as the old ICT qualification. If the current disparities in access go unaddressed we risk wasting the opportunity to transform the tech industry into a more equal profession."

They both worry that schools are looking at this new subject with some scepticism and deciding that there are other priorities when budgets are tight. In schools that are offering the new A-level in computing, class sizes tend to be small, raising the prospect, says the Roehampton report, that their economic viability will be questioned under new sixth form funding arrangements.

And while many teachers supported the move towards a more rigorous form of computing education, some who warned about the danger of throwing out the baby with the bathwater now feel vindicated.

Difficult

Drew Buddie, an ICT teacher who also acts as an examiner for the computer science GCSE, says the new exam is just too hard for many children, and is proving very stressful for teachers too. The result, he fears, is that "whole cohorts of students are now completely switched off doing ANY computer-related GCSE." He says the content of the new course is so different that many ICT teachers just do not have the knowledge to teach it, and he fears that computer science could become a niche subject, taught in only a few schools.

The Department for Education is looking on the bright side. "The number of girls studying computer science has nearly doubled since last year and we want to see more follow their example," a spokesperson said.

The DfE went on to say that "mastering Stem skills would ensure our future workforce has the skills to drive the future productivity and economy of this country".

What it doesn't say is that computer science can be creative and fun. Perhaps those words need to be inserted into the curriculum - otherwise many pupils and teachers may decide that computing is just too hard to bother with.