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Smartphones And Schoolwork: Determining The Relationship Between Students’ Beliefs And Habits Regarding Phones, Luke Breems

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project investigated the relationship between students’ beliefs about the effects of using phones concurrently with schoolwork and the extent to which they engage in that behavior. Forty-five students from an independent school in southwestern Ontario participated in a study to determine their beliefs about phones’ effects on their schoolwork, and their responses were compared to observational data regarding how frequently they checked their phones during class. The results of the study indicate that, on average, students believe phones have little effect on their schoolwork, in contrast to current academic literature, which suggests an overall negative effect. This …