African Youth and Mobile Phones/Mobilities: Piloting Guidelines for Responsible Mobile Phone Use by Pupils/Students and Teachers in Ghanaian Schools

Samuel Asiedu Owusu, University of Cape Coast
Albert Machistey Abane, University of Cape Coast
Augustine Tanle, University of Cape Coast
Yaw Asamoah, University of Education, Winneba

Studies have highlighted ways through which mobile phones promote or adversely affect teaching and learning environments. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model, a pilot study of guidelines on responsible mobile phone use was implemented in 15 selected pre-tertiary schools in the Central Region of Ghana. Posters were also pasted in the schools during the period. The Concurrent Triangulation Strategy of mixed-methods was employed to evaluate the effects of the intervention after two academic terms with data from 15 headteachers, 261 student/pupils and 74 teachers. The findings indicate that previous practices where pupils/students and teachers could use mobile phones during instructional hours have reduced substantially. The posters also served as moral reminders to the participants to desist from using mobile phones during instructional hours. It is recommended that the pilot study should be scaled up while a national policy on responsible mobile phone use should be formulated and implemented in Ghana.