Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Hedy Dexter

Abstract

The increase in smartphone use among U.S. adolescents has become a significant concern. Self-regulating smartphone use is difficult for adolescents, as notifications from social media and entertainment apps provide a sense of instant gratification. Addressing problematic smartphone use has become urgent given that adolescents’ physical and mental health has declined, including increased obesity, anxiety and depression, and smartphone addiction. Learning is also impeded when students continuously shift attention between course content and their smartphones, preventing the brain from engaging in the deep thinking necessary for long-term memory storage, retention, and retrieval. However, it is more common to see smartphones present in the classroom as teachers integrate technology to engage students, trusting them to use their devices responsibly with or without the presence of a school-wide electronic device policy. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of appropriate norms for smartphone use in the classroom. Applying the value-focused thinking framework, semistructured, eight open-ended interviews were conducted with high school teachers. Participants shared their experiences with students’ and their own smartphone use during class, revealing discrepancies in beliefs about student versus teacher smartphone use, usefulness of smartphones, picking their battles when enforcing policies, and need for support from administrators, colleagues, and parents. These findings have implications for positive social change as the insights provided can inform school-wide electronic device policies with the potential to enhance student learning otherwise impeded by compulsive classroom smartphone use.

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