LThe U-turn was decided on the basis of a rather alarming international study. According to Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)of 2021, the reading ability of Swedish students between the ages of nine and ten has dropped by 11 points in 5 years. And a key factor in this worsening would be excessive use of digital devices. This is why Sweden has chosen to question the centrality of technology in schools. A value that was crucial in the Scandinavian country.
«With tablets out of school, people forget to read». Sweden backtracks on technology
The driving force behind the change is Education Minister Carlotta Edholm, from the centre-right coalition. The government’s commitment today is to enhance traditional educational methods, going against the indications on the use of new technologies of the National Education Agency. The floor for the digitalisation of teaching in Sweden, to be implemented by 2027, it also included the introduction of the use of tablets in all classes starting from nursery school.
The debate is open and heated. There are those who ask to consider other factors among the causes that led to these negative data. Above all, the pandemic. But various experts they were right to the minister. According to the Swedish Karolinska Institutet, one of the most important medical universities in the world (the body that awards the Nobel Prize for Medicine), “It is scientifically proven that digital tools compromise, rather than improve, student learning.”
Child learning the alphabet on the tablet
The guidelines. No screens until age 2, one hour a day until age 5
In an interview for the Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s main newspaper, the president of the Swedish Pediatric Association Ulrika Ådén argues that children should not use any screens until the age of two. Thereafter, in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidance, they should limit their use to one hour a day up to the age of 5. For this reason they should be banned at school, given that – it is assumed – that only “legal” hour is enjoyed within the home.
The problem with digital games: here’s why they’re not good
Ådén explains why too “digital games” should be limited as much as possible. They provide faster stimuli and rewards than traditional ones and for this reason can have negative consequences on the ability to concentrate. Learning, on the contrary, is stimulated by manual skills, by a full use of the senses and by the exploration of foreign environments.
Technology, use must be appropriate
The excessive adoption of digital learning tools has also raised concerns from the United Nations Education and Culture Agency. In a report published in August, theUNESCO has launched an «urgent appeal for appropriate use of technology in education». The report urges countries to accelerate Internet connections in schools, but at the same time warns that technology in education should be implemented in a way that never replaces in-person, teacher-led education and supports the shared goal of quality education for all.
The issue is, of course, not local. The reduction in reading ability of Swedish children remains better than that of children in other countries around the world. According to the Pirls study, Sweden is in fact in seventh place, together with Taiwan. Italy, for example, is in a lower position.
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