Legislative Initiatives for Improving the Interaction among the Educational Process Participants: Criminological Perspective

Introduction. The use of smartphones as a learning tool in schools is prohibited by the Russian law. As it is well known, the scientific and technological progress has induced active implementation of the electronic devices into the everyday life of all categories of citizens, and the system of education has not been an exception. To systematise the use of the electronic devices in the education system, the legislators have submitted to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation a draft law, which reflects the revised attitude to the modern means of communication. However, the reaction of the scientific community to this proposal has been extremely contradictive and contained both positive and negative arguments. The aim of the present research is to study the expediency and justification of using the means of electronic communication in the educational institutions, to analyse the criminological problems arising in this field, and to assess the legislative initiatives and opinions of the scientists of different scientific specialties referring to improving the interaction among the educational process participants.Materials and Methods. The overview analysis of the scientific criminological literature and respective legislation regarding the expediency and justification of using the means of communication for the educational purposes was carried out in the frame of the research. Among the methodological tools there were used the commonly accepted in Russia methods of scientific cognition: general scientific (dialectical method) and specific scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, logical, comparative legal, systemic methods).Results. In the frame of the research, the analysis of the various scientific opinions on acceptability of using the means of communication for the educational purposes was made. The criminological problems arising in this field and the existing legal regulation were studied, the opinions of scientists of different scientific specialties on this matter were evaluated. The conclusion about the negative effect of the long-term usage of a device on the learner’s academic progression was made, even though it was used for the educational purposes. According to the scientists’ opinion, this dependency can be explained by multitasking: the mobile phones have many applications and functions that naturally lead to frequent switching from one task to another, which happens in the educational process too. This entails worsening the quality of perception of the material. To change the situation, the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) and the Federal Service for Supervision of Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor) have developed the recommendations for the educational institutions and state authorities on reducing the negative impact of mobile devices on learners.Discussion and Conclusion. The results of the conducted research have led to the conclusion that the total prohibition of the means of communication usage for the educational purposes significantly complicates and slows down the development of learners’ cognitive activity. Moreover, the opinion of some of the researchers about potential threats caused by children having devices in an educational institution does not seem convincing from a criminological point of view, because a smartphone can act as a guaranty of child’s security, the means of communication with his parents and monitoring his movement and condition. The paragraph 3.5.3 of the sanitary rules and norms SP (СП) 2.4.3648-20, which regulates the prohibition of the mobile means of communication usage for the educational purposes at the lessons, should be revised. In our opinion, it should not be the prohibition, but the control over the usage of the electronic devices in the educational process.