School policies for the use of mobile phones and the internet in Slovenian primary schools

As part of its Safer Internet Day (SID) 2016 activities, the Slovenian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) conducted a survey in primary schools to gain an insight into the situation regarding the regulation of acceptable use of technology. In Slovenia, children enter primary schooling at about the age of 6 and finish at about the age of 14. The survey was issued to a sample size of 129 primary schools, with 57 responding.

Date 2016-03-30 Author Slovenian Safer Internet Centre Section awareness
According to the survey results, the use of mobile phones and the internet in schools is mainly regulated through codes of conduct, house rules and education plans.
 
 
Key findings include:
 
Acceptable use policies
  • Schools regulate acceptable use of technology in the context of codes of conduct (78 per cent), house rules (62 per cent) and educational plans (51 per cent).
  • In acceptable use policies (AUPs), schools address the use of mobile phones (100 per cent), recording devices (88 per cent) and players (71 per cent). The internet is addressed in only 58 per cent of schools.
Regulation of use of mobile devices
  • The most common prohibitions include: taking photos and videos with mobile phone (79 per cent), use of mobile devices during class (75 per cent), and use of mobile devices on the school ground (64 per cent).
  • The most common regulations on the permitted use include: use of mobile phones during class in agreement with the teacher (69 per cent) or on the school grounds (56 per cent), use is not allowed during class (21 per cent), or use is not allowed on the school grounds (27 per cent).
Regulation of use of the internet
  • The most common prohibitions include: use of the internet during class (59 per cent), use of the internet on the school grounds (44 per cent), and use of the internet except for educational purposes (18 per cent).
  • The most common regulations on the permitted use include: use of the internet is allowed only for class purposes (100 per cent), and use of the internet is allowed in the school's library (36 per cent).
  • The most common is access to the internet in schools is available in computer classrooms (94 per cent), in the school library (61 per cent), and via the wireless network (33 per cent).
Measures in case of the violation of regulations
  • Measures in case of the violation of regulations of mobile phone use include: seizure of the mobile phone and return of the mobile phone to parents (90 per cent), and switching the mobile phone off (17 per cent).
  • Measures in cases of violation of the regulations for internet use: seizure of the mobile device that a pupil was using the internet on (80 per cent), and taking away rights for use of computers in school (9 per cent). Schools do not have refined rules and determined measures in case of regulations violations yet: they often react depending on the situation.
Measures in case of cyberbullying
  • 72 per cent of schools have a policy for preventing bullying which also addresses cyberbullying. In the majority of cases (approximately 55 per cent), schools have conversations with parents and engaged pupils on this issue.
  • According to representatives of schools who took the survey, teachers are not qualified to act in cases of bullying (80 per cent), but on the other hand, teachers are those who have to confront it – class teachers (88 per cent), head teachers (70 per cent) and teachers (46 per cent).
Raising awareness about safe and responsible use of the internet
  • Responsibility for awareness raising sits with the counselling department (67 per cent), IT operative (67 per cent) or head teacher/assistant head teacher (49 per cent).
  • Schools usually raise pupil's awareness through class meetings (94 per cent), but in addition to raising pupil (86 per cent) and parental (71 per cent) awareness, schools also use Safe.si workshops (67 per cent), parent meetings (63 per cent) and training for teachers (55 per cent).
Read more about the Slovenian Safer Internet Centre.
 

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