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A comparative mixed methods analysis of educators’ and parents’ attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in South African high schools
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613883944927232 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | De Jong, Lana |
| author2 | Le Roux, D. B. |
| author_browse | De Jong, Lana Le Roux, D. B. |
| author_facet | Le Roux, D. B. De Jong, Lana |
| author_sort | De Jong, Lana |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134587 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:13.574Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134587 A comparative mixed methods analysis of educators’ and parents’ attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in South African high schools De Jong, Lana Le Roux, D. B. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science. Cell phones -- Social aspects -- South Africa Teenagers -- Effect of technological innovations on -- South Africa High school students -- Attitudes -- South Africa Internet and teenagers -- South Africa UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. De Jong, L. 2025. A Comparative Mixed Methods Analysis of Educators’ and Parents’ Attitudes and Concerns about Smartphone use in South African High Schools. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/54b7291f-0e9a-4a25-9391-c3f87383ac8d ENGLISH SUMMARY: The development of technology over the last decade has led to a growing dependence on smartphones and a very high adoption rate among adolescents. While advances in communication and information technologies offer various advantages, parents often express concerns about how smartphones may affect adolescents’ cognitive development. In addition, the presence of phones in the school environment presents both opportunities and challenges for educators and school management teams. As key stakeholder groups, parents and educators can influence the development and implementation of high school phone policies. This presents the challenge of weighing the potential benefits that phones have as educational and communication tools against various risks associated with their use in education settings. Finding a middle ground where phones are meaningfully integrated into the school environment is an important and challenging task. The key objective of this study was to investigate the perceptions, attitudes and concerns of these two stakeholders about phone use in South African high schools. To achieve this, a combination of quantitative and qualitative secondary data was analysed. The data was collected through online surveys completed by 203 high school educators and 2264 parents as part of an extensive Social Impact Project conducted in 2023/24 by researchers at Stellenbosch University. Statistical and thematic analyses were used to systematically describe and compare the attitudes and concerns of the two stakeholder groups. The findings indicate that both groups hold nuanced views, acknowledging both the value that phones have as educational and communication tools, but also the broad range of potential negative effects their use may introduce for high school learners. Educators generally display higher levels of concern over phone use among learners than parents, emphasising aspects like access to illicit content, cyberbullying and distraction. While they feel responsible for regulating learners’ phone use, they experience this as a significant and demanding challenge. Parents share these concerns but place substantial value on the way phones enable communication with their children during school hours, particularly in terms of making practical arrangements and ensuring their safety. Many parents feel that, if meaningfully applied, phones can enhance teaching and learning activities. However, the data indicate that few educators actively use phones for this purpose. In their totality, the findings suggest that outright phone bans are not realistic policy positions in many South African high schools. Rather, schools should confront the difficult challenge of purposefully integrating phones into the learning environment while combatting use patterns that introduce risks or negative effects. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar. Masters 2025-12-15T10:37:59Z 2025-12-15T10:37:59Z 2025-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134587 en Stellenbosch University viii, 125 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Cell phones -- Social aspects -- South Africa Teenagers -- Effect of technological innovations on -- South Africa High school students -- Attitudes -- South Africa Internet and teenagers -- South Africa UCTD De Jong, Lana A comparative mixed methods analysis of educators’ and parents’ attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in South African high schools |
| title | A comparative mixed methods analysis of educators’ and parents’ attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in South African high schools |
| title_full | A comparative mixed methods analysis of educators’ and parents’ attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in South African high schools |
| title_fullStr | A comparative mixed methods analysis of educators’ and parents’ attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in South African high schools |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparative mixed methods analysis of educators’ and parents’ attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in South African high schools |
| title_short | A comparative mixed methods analysis of educators’ and parents’ attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in South African high schools |
| title_sort | comparative mixed methods analysis of educators and parents attitudes and concerns about smartphone use in south african high schools |
| topic | Cell phones -- Social aspects -- South Africa Teenagers -- Effect of technological innovations on -- South Africa High school students -- Attitudes -- South Africa Internet and teenagers -- South Africa UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134587 |
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