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ERIC Number: ED632018
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 159
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3744-1031-0
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Smartphone Addiction, Enhanced Learning Difficulties, and the Future of Education: A Phenomenological Study of Secondary Christian School Students
Bullard, Jessica L.
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Regent University
The advent of the Digital Age has brought with it the pervasive influx of technology, which has influenced every aspect of life, including that of the educational realm. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a connection exists between prolonged or frequent exposure to technology, specifically via smartphone usage, and issues such as enhanced learning difficulties and behavioral and psychological problems in Christian school students in 10th-12th grades. Additionally, this study sought to determine how potential connections might impact the future of the educational realm, as educators adjust classroom pedagogies to adapt to society's increasing dependence upon technology. The current research utilized a hermeneutic approach via an interpretive phenomenological analysis and was conducted via purposive selection of three participant groups: parents, students, and educators. This approach endeavored to identify and analyze significant meaning from the shared experiences of respondents. The selection included 11 parents of 10th-12th-grade students, 10 educators of 10th-12th-grade students, and 10 students in 10th-12th grades. The researcher obtained responses through semistructured interviews utilizing interview protocols developed by the interviewer, due to a lack of such previously existing protocols. The researcher analyzed this qualitative data by synthesizing participants' responses and utilizing a thematic analysis approach to identify correlating themes, data, and insights. The researcher compared and contrasted themes to produce new knowledge and understanding via a manual cross-case analysis. Though each respondent provided a unique perspective and responses, several themes emerged from the overlapping data of each respondent pool regarding smartphone usage on students. These themes included (a) increased distraction levels, (b) increased levels of anxiety and depression, (c) negative changes in behavior and mood, (d) negative impacts on relationships with others, (e) harmful impacts on morality, (f) adverse spiritual implications, and (g) addiction-like behaviors and symptoms. The study also revealed themes related to the future of education: inability to focus, decline in morality, decreased automaticity and information retention, increased levels of anxiety and depression, lower-level thinking, negative impacts on relationships, issues with addiction, and a distorted concept of reality. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Grade 10; High Schools; Secondary Education; Grade 11; Grade 12
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A