New research and a major NSW policy shift are putting the focus on a bigger question for screen time in schools: when does technology improve learning, and when does it get in the way?
For schools weighing how much technology belongs in the classroom, the debate is moving beyond screen time.
New research involving academics from all 11 NSW universities is examining how students actually use screens for learning, while the NSW Government is moving to put limits on classroom screen use in its public schools.
Together, the developments point to a shift in thinking: technology is unlikely to disappear from classrooms, but schools are being asked to be more deliberate about when and why students use it.
The Macquarie University-led Best Practice in Screen Use for Education project surveyed students, parents, teachers, school leaders and pre-service teachers across NSW. The 16-member research team includes academics specialising in educational technology from all 11 NSW-based universities.
The project describes screen use as “a fundamental part of our modern society” that, when used well, “can advance student learning”, while also identifying challenges including distraction, overuse and over-reliance.
The survey report, published in August, is deliberately descriptive. The researchers say it is intended to provide a picture of current practices and perceptions rather than prescribe a single model of screen use.
That distinction matters as schools respond to growing pressure to reconsider digital learning.
The research found a significant gap between how technology is being used and how some parents perceive its value. According to the NSW Department of Education, teachers were largely using technology purposefully, but only 45 per cent of secondary-school parents and 32 per cent of primary-school parents surveyed believed the benefits of technology outweighed the disadvantages. Half of students surveyed reported being distracted by screens in class.
Those findings are now being accompanied by one of the most significant changes to classroom technology policy in NSW.
From Term 1 2027, NSW public schools will introduce recommended limits on individual student screen use, with the limits becoming mandatory from 2028. Kindergarten to Year 2 students will have up to 15 minutes a day, Years 3 and 4 up to 30 minutes, and Years 5 and 6 up to 45 minutes. For Years 7 to 10, screen use will be limited to up to one-quarter of the time per subject, rising to up to half the time per subject for Years 11 and 12.
The NSW Department of Education says the limits will operate across a week of lessons rather than requiring teachers to monitor a strict daily allocation.
The policy will also recommend at least one hour a day of learning using pen and paper, and recommends that schools limit screen use for homework, with digital devices for homework not recommended before Year 5.
Importantly, the policy does not remove digital learning.
The NSW Government says digital literacy will remain part of the curriculum and that schools will continue to use online tools where they provide educational benefit. The department will also provide professional learning, resources and guidance to help teachers make the transition.
NSW Education Minister Prue Car said the intention was for screens to be used intentionally rather than becoming the default.
The Macquarie research is going further than surveys.
A companion classroom-observation study provides a “state of play” snapshot based on observations in 68 NSW public-school classrooms, covering 57 hours of lesson time across Stages 1 to 6 and a broad range of learning areas. Researchers recorded how teachers and students used digital technologies and the extent of student engagement with learning tasks.
The findings from those observations will eventually be considered alongside the survey data, focus groups and other research as the project develops. The researchers say the final project will include a Quality Screen Use Toolkit and guidance for students, parents, school leaders, teachers and pre-service teachers.
For schools, the emerging evidence raises a more useful question than simply whether students are spending too long in front of screens. It is whether the technology is serving a clear educational purpose.
One example is Shire Christian School, which operates a 1:1 laptop program for secondary students while explicitly taking a measured approach to screen use.
The school says its managed laptops are intended to support learning rather than entertainment, while its mobile-phone policy removes another source of digital distraction during the school day. It also says it continues to use pen and paper regularly, noting that the HSC remains a paper-based examination.
“We are mindful not to give students excessive screen time,” the school says, while continuing to value traditional skills.
It is an example of a model in which digital technology is not rejected, but its use is bounded by the purpose of the learning task.
That distinction is likely to become increasingly important for school leaders as technology becomes more deeply embedded in teaching.
The NSW policy is focused on public schools, but the underlying question extends well beyond the state system: how should schools determine when a laptop, tablet or interactive screen adds something that another approach cannot?
The Macquarie research is not yet offering a simple answer. Its survey findings are a snapshot, with further focus groups and classroom observations to be synthesised with the data.
What it does provide is a stronger evidence base for a conversation that schools are increasingly having: not screens or no screens, but which screens, for what purpose, and with what effect on learning?