Factors affecting parental resistance to the use of smartphones for learning purposes at schools

Abstract

This study examined parental resistance to the use of smartphones in schools, the resistance factors underlying the parental resistance and other factors that predict this resistance. The data was collected from 220 parents who filled in an online questionnaire. The participants reported on their level of resistance to the use of smartphones in schools (no resistance, passive resistance, active resistance) and the resistance factors (pedagogic, social, environmental and economic factors) underlying this resistance. About two-thirds of the parents who participated in the study resisted to the use of smartphones in school, and more than half of them expressed active resistance to such use. The social resistance factor found to be the highest in the study, while the pedagogical resistance factor was the lowest. Nevertheless, both these factors, and the economic factor, were positive predictors of parental resistance level. The research sheds light on the phenomenon of parents' resistance to the use of smartphones in school learning, discuss the implication of this phenomenon on school policy and suggest practical solution for schools to overcome the parental resistance.