Smartphone-Free Schools: A Needs Assessment for Swiss Primary Schools (Cycle II)
Capturing smartphone regulations in primary schools in Bern: A study of current practices and needs involving principals, teachers, parents, and students.
Duration: January 2026 – December 2026
Status: Ongoing
Educational Level: Primary Level
Topic: Digital Ethics, Digital Skills & Literacy, Digital Tools
Keywords: Smartphone Regulations, Rules and Agreements, Primary Schools, Needs Assessment, Mixed Methods
Initial Situation
The use of smartphones is an integral part of daily life for children and adolescents. Surveys show that almost every second child aged 6–13 owns a device (Feierabend et al., 2025), making the question of appropriate use in the school context increasingly relevant. While international regulations (Habermann, 2025) and public debates (Sotomo, 2024; YouGov, 2024) emphasize the need for clear guidelines, the Leopoldina (National Academy of Sciences) even recommends a complete smartphone ban during school hours (Brailovskaia et al., 2025). However, empirical evidence regarding such measures is heterogeneous. In Switzerland, systematic empirical studies on school smartphone bans are still lacking.
The University of Bern and the University of Teacher Education NMS Bern address this research gap through a needs assessment, providing a practice-oriented basis for a subsequent main study (intervention). The aim is to capture the current state of school regulations on smartphone use and to identify conditions under which school principals, teachers, parents, and students would be willing to participate in an intervention study involving a temporary smartphone ban. The needs assessment serves as a collaboratively developed foundation, ensuring that the main study can be designed in a feasible manner, aligned with the conditions of all stakeholders, and supported by school practice.
Objectives
The aim is to capture the current state of school regulations regarding smartphone use and to identify the conditions under which different stakeholders would be willing to participate in a future intervention (main study) involving a temporary smartphone ban. The research is thus designed with practice rather than imposed on practice. The needs assessment forms a collaboratively developed foundation on which the main study can be designed to be feasible, aligned with the conditions of all stakeholders, and supported by school practice.
Method
In this project, we implement a mixed-methods approach that systematically captures the perspectives of various stakeholder groups (school principals, teachers, parents, and students) and combines qualitative and quantitative data. Data are collected through both guided interviews with school principals and standardized questionnaires for teachers, parents, and students. To ensure a meaningful sample and a broad data base, the sampling strategy will include schools of different sizes as well as urban and rural locations in the canton of Bern.
Planned Translation
With the needs assessment we contribute to education practice and research by capturing the current situation of primary schools in Bern regarding students’ smartphone use and the conditions under which schools want to participate in a study on the effects of a temporary smartphone ban in schools. This creates a practice-oriented basis that incorporates cooperation and the perspectives of all stakeholders. To ensure that the results are reflected in practice and contribute to the further development of school practice, participating schools will receive a practice-oriented report. The results enable primary schools to critically reflect on their current approach to smartphone use during school hours, identify specific needs and school-related challenges, and develop school media policies.
After completion of the project, we will prepare a practice-oriented report for the participating schools. The report will address the questions of which framework conditions currently exist in schools regarding smartphone use, which prerequisites the various stakeholders consider necessary for conducting an intervention study with a temporary smartphone ban, and under which conditions they would be willing to participate in the future main study. The report summarizes the key results in an audience-appropriate format and provides school-specific feedback. The report ensures transparency for the attending schools and offers a practice-relevant foundation that enables each school to critically reflect on its current approach to smartphone use and identify potential areas for development.
