Restrictions on Using Mobile Phones in Lower Secondary School in Hindsight

Two lower secondary schools in Norway suddenly found themselves at the center of national news when they reportedly banned the use of mobile phones on their premises. This decision drew attention from the national agency supporting the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education, which strongly opposed the schools‘ decisions. The schools‘ approach to managing the “digital disturbance” phenomenon – namely, by turning off phones and putting them aside during school hours – gradually gained significant support nationwide. In the present study, the reasons, arguments, and evidence of consequences were thoroughly examined from a critical realist perspective. Today, almost all primary and secondary schools have imposed strong restrictions, leading to a complete turnaround in policy from the authorities. This article chronicles why the two schools made bold decisions a decade ago and how they can now consider themselves the spearheads of a new policy and practice.