Back to old-school: Schools in Denmark lock in smartphones during the school day

Denmark, known for its early adoption of digital tools in education, is experiencing a reversal in its approach.

A growing number of schools are adopting the “mobile-free school” policy, in which students are required to hand in their mobile phones during the school day.

This policy is gaining momentum across the country as educators observe the impact unfettered access to digital devices has had on pupils’ learning and social behaviour.

At Trongårdsskolen in Kongens Lyngby, a municipality 30 km from Copenhagen, pupils have to leave their phones in a safe upon arrival at school.

Before the policy change, students could keep their phones but were asked to switch them off during lessons. 

Bent Povlsen, a veteran teacher at Trongårdsskolen, says many didn’t follow the rules, and phones chimed and buzzed, disturbing the lessons.

“We were constantly disturbed by notifications and all kinds of distractions from all kinds of apps and even parents calling in the middle of lessons to discuss dinner or something,” Povlsen told Euronews. 

“It was really hard to have a quiet moment actually in class at that time under the old rules,” he added.

The issue of distraction became so prominent that teachers suggested a pilot programme to limit mobile phone use to the school board in 2023.

“We saw that the pupils stopped playing. They stopped doing sports. It was a very sad sight to see pupils just sitting, not doing anything. They didn’t even talk to each other,” Povlsen told Euronews.

“We saw a lot of pupils develop downright mobile phone addiction,” Povlsen added.

The trial has since become a permanent fixture, supported by both staff and parents.

Povlsen, who has taught for 38 years, described the mobile phone ban as “the best decision” of his career.

“We now see happy and smiling pupils again. We actually see pupils talking to each other, playing with each other, doing sports again. Academically. We see the pupils are back on track. They learn more then under this new rule than they did before”.

According to the OECD’s PISA report, students globally perform better in mathematics and feel a stronger sense of belonging at school when they spend moderate amounts of time using devices for learning. 

Experts say limiting mobile phone use can help improve concentration, memory, sleep and physical activities.

“Not forbidding them totally, but limiting (mobile phone use can help) to stimulate different kinds of activities,” Jesper Balslev, a researcher at the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, told Euronews.

“In developmental psychology, it’s very well documented that the passive posture that you have with a mobile phone where you are not really in contact with your peers is detrimental to learning strength,” Balslev added.

He says it’s hard for teachers to exert authority in an environment where there’s only a partial presence.

Student resistance

When the ban was first implemented, teachers at Trongårdsskolen experienced strong resistance from students and spent months convincing students of the idea.

“We took a lot of work to convince the students that this was a good idea because when you are addicted to something, It’s hard to let loose of your addiction. So the pupils had a lot of resistance to it. And we needed a lot of convincing and talking,” Povlsen said.

“Drug addicts don’t really like when the drug is taken away from them. And that’s the situation for some of our pupils who are really who were really addicted. But they can now also see the benefits of this. So there are great benefits to it.

13-year-old Nanna used to play a popular mobile game with her classmates. She said she found the new rule ‘annoying’.

“It was kind of unnecessary to remove the phone since we use it as a thing to do together,” said Lena.

Povlsen says the ban helps the pupils in the long run and that teachers should remember that it is their responsibility.

“This is a school and the purpose of any school is to learn. And a lot of pupils actually lost interest in learning. And so we had to do something about it,” he said.

14-year-old Eva and 12-year-old Louise experienced their friends becoming more active.

“At first I was quite annoyed …I definitely felt like I use my phone a lot more in school than I should have,” Eva told Euronews.

“But after the change, it helped a lot. And other people used a lot of help; they (started) talking with friends more and doing stuff outside of school, not just looking at (their) phone,” she said.

“I think it’s a good initiative, especially for people who use their phones a lot. It helps you be present at school,” Eva added.

A broader shift in education policy

In February, an agency overseeing the quality of education under the Ministry of Education and Children, Styrelsen for Undervisning og Kvalitet, announced 12 recommendations on digital device use at school such as implementing a mobile phone ban and encouraging analogue teaching.

Advocates welcomed the guideline.

“We were thrilled because we (had) talked about it for years before someone started to do something about it in the government. It was really sad to see pupils stop playing and moving around. That hurt, actually,” Povlsen said.

This change marks a significant departure from Denmark’s previous approach to technology in education.

 Once hailed as a leader in digital learning, Denmark — along with other Nordic countries — embraced technology in classrooms, from iPads to AI tools like ChatGPT.

According to the Ministry of Children and Education in Denmark, 500 million krone (€67 million was allocated in 2012 as part of the eGovernment Strategy to develop the use of IT in schools. This led many municipalities to purchase iPads for schools.

According to the latest survey by PISA, an OECD‘s Programme for International Student Assessment, 86 per cent of students In Denmark, use digital tools for learning purposes for one hour a day or more at school.

“In a very pretty short time, we’ve gone from being the most digitised country in the world to being a country that is pretty keen on trying to restrict the use of mobile phones in education,” said Balslev.

“In a historical sense, this marks a turning point. For the first time, government officials are expressing scepticism about the role of digital technology in education,” Balslev added.

“The motives are to try to do something about distraction and to try to improve the relationship between teacher and pupil”.

In the PISA report, some 32 per cent of students admit they get distracted by their own use of digital devices in most or every mathematics lesson.

The recommendations address screen time beyond mobile phones, reflecting growing concerns over the ubiquity of digital devices.

Trongårdsskolen, in addition to the mobile phone ban, plans to limit the usage of computers.

“We are trying to minimise the time spent on computers and go back to the old days and actually use books again, which we haven’t done for a long time,” said Povlsen.

“There’s a growing awareness in the whole society that we need to do something about the total use of screens in our society because technology helps us with a lot of things. But there’s also a flip side to it and we need to address them quickly,” he added.

In September, the school implemented a firewall to block access to sites unrelated to educational purposes. This was part of the new guideline, and several other schools in Denmark have reportedly made similar efforts.

Denmark’s shift towards reducing technology in schools is not occurring in isolation.

Other European countries such as the Netherlands, Hungary, France and Greece have tried restricting mobile phones in schools in the past year.

The move reflects a broader concern across Europe about the impact of technology on students’ well-being and educational outcomes.