Sweden blames digital screens for lack of attainment

Sweden might have some of the best educational performance and attainment metrics in Europe, but the Swedish Government is unhappy with recent attainment levels. It plans to move away from digital screens and invest more in bringing textbooks back into classrooms.

The Swedish Government has announced plans to release 685 million kroner ($68m USD) this year and another 500 million kroner ($50m USD) in both 2024 and again in 2025 to speed up the return of printed textbooks to the nation’s schools.

From digital screens: the return of the printed textbook

The debate in Sweden is raging around the use of digital screens, with many politicians, parents and teachers fearing that the nation’s schools have gone too far and too fast in embracing digital technologies in classrooms.

Swedish literacy remains higher than the European average. However, recent international literacy surveys have shown a decline in young Swedes’ reading and comprehension skills. The Swedish schools minister blamed the lackluster performance on the overprovisioning of digital screens, tablets and computers in the country’s classrooms.

Schools Minister Lotta Edholm has previously raised concerns. In December 2022, she published a column in the Expressen newspaper condemning the shelving of the textbook. She condemned “the uncritical attitude that considered casually that digitalization is good whatever its context” and argued that the textbook has “benefits that no tablet can replace”.

The impact of screens in the classroom

The notion that screens should not be in the classroom is not a new idea. In 2015, the Guardian newspaper reported that the parents working for pioneering technology companies choose to send their own children to schools that question the value of computers in education. It says these parents’ reluctance begs the question: is the futuristic dream of high-tech classrooms really in the best interests of the next generation?

It isn’t only the Swedish schools minister who thinks not. In Silicon Valley, the Waldorf School of the Peninsula eschews electronic devices. Instead, its pedagogy emphasizes the role of imagination in learning and favors a hands-on, experiential approach.

Beverley Amico, leader of outreach and development at the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America told the Guardian that a low-tech, no-tech education teaches children the innovative thinking skills which many employers’ desire. She stated that students weaned on technology often lack the ability to think outside the box or to problem solve.

Textbooks and play create more opportunities to develop more rounded skills

Leaning too heavily into electronic teaching aids means pupils lose the opportunity to stretch their imaginations, learn through play, explore different avenues to find a solution, problem solve, develop research capabilities and develop their communication and human interaction skills. Further, they offer no space for parents to be involved in the learning process in that way that, for example, a textbook might.

What next?

Discover more ideas about the value of the printed word on our blog:

• Today’s challenges in teaching
• Teacher interview with Cristina Chau
• Why do we learn better on paper?
• How paper can help you make studying more fun and effective?
• The lost art of letter writing
• How to use paper effectively in hybrid learning
• How to Take Notes on Paper Faster
• Why do we need International Literacy Day? Six reasons why…