MALM脰, Sweden (AP) 鈥� Long championed as a leader in adopting digital technology, Sweden is set to beginning in the fall for the next academic year as part of a broad, international reversal on the .
Since 2023, the Scandinavian country鈥檚 center-right coalition government has pursued a policy prioritizing more reading time and less screen time, particularly among preschool students, by favoring books and other traditional learning tools.
Lawmaker Joar Forsell, chairperson of the Swedish parliament’s education committee, said officials have seen a decline in the general ability to read and write in Sweden, especially among younger students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e rolling the screens back because we believe that books and more traditional ways of learning are better for kids,鈥� Forsell said.
Sweden鈥檚 plans are part of a broader shift and in schools internationally after countries outfitted their campuses with laptops, tablets and learning apps for their students. Classrooms have become saturated with screens and a , teachers and school districts say it is time to scale back.
In the Nordics, looks set to implement a similar ban to Sweden, and a law restricting use of mobile devices in schools in Finland came into effect last August. Other countries from Spain to South Korea have taken a variety of steps that range from a ban of mobile phones in classrooms to limits on screen-based homework.
, the second-largest school district in the U.S., has said it will ban screens until second grade, require daily caps for screen time per grade, ban YouTube and require an audit of all education technology contracts.
Backing away from screens
Tech-savvy Sweden, which is home to music streamer Spotify and telecoms giant Ericsson, has one of the most digitally advanced education systems in the world. But the mobile ban aims to foster learning environments with fewer distractions by building on restrictions on phones already independently implemented by many schools in the nation of over 10 million.
Alongside the ban, the government this year set aside 555 million Swedish krona ($59 million) as part of a new grant for purchasing textbooks and teachers鈥� guides.
The was triggered by falling reading levels. In the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment, the latest study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 24.3% of Swedish ninth graders did not reach a basic level of reading comprehension. That figure is only slightly better than the European Union average of 26.2%.
Magnus Haake, an associate professor of cognitive science at Lund University in southern Sweden, said learning with physical materials engages the motor sensory part of kids鈥� brains and 鈥渂oosts the whole system.鈥�
Sweden also is taking steps outside of school: Its public health agency has provided about being better role models on use of screens, like having the same 鈥渟creen-free zones鈥� at home as their kids do.
Removing mobile phones removes distractions
At the Malm枚 Borgarskola high school in southern Sweden, mobiles are already banned during classes. Students place their handsets in a box 鈥� nicknamed a 鈥淢obile Hotel鈥� 鈥� and pick them up at the end of class.
鈥淲hen you have a phone, there鈥檚 always something to look at,鈥� student Melina Sallahi, 17, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 less of a distraction.鈥�
Classmate Vasilije Stjepanovic, also 17, said apps like games or social media are 鈥渕ore fun than learning,鈥� adding that students can learn better by taking away the phones.
At the same time, every student is given a laptop computer. But Deputy Headmaster Patrik Sander said students are now discouraged from using them in class, unless teachers say so.
鈥淣owadays, we see the push going in the other direction,鈥� Sander said. 鈥淲e have pushed back, learning that writing with your hands and a pencil helps you remember.鈥�
Starting last summer, Swedish children under 2 years old could use only nondigital materials such as books, and preschoolers in general face no requirement to use digital learning tools. A new curriculum to prioritize book-based learning is expected in 2028.
Divisions over digital reckoning in classrooms
Not everyone in the Nordic nation supports the shift away from digital learning.
Trade association Swedish Edtech Industry said in a report that 90% of all future jobs are expected to require digital skills. A lack of this knowledge could cause a skills shortage among young Swedes, a lack of innovation in the public sector and even increased unemployment, the report warned.
Peter Carlsson, CEO of Malm枚-based startup Imvi Labs, which uses virtual reality headsets to train brain-eye coordination in children and adults, said not all screens disrupt learning and some software is 鈥渃ritical鈥� to help children with learning or reading difficulties.
鈥淏y having good tools, the teaching can become more efficient,鈥� he said.
But at Malm枚 Borgarskola, there is little concern over learning digital skills. One morning in May, students clutched textbooks and discussed Russian history as they prepared for end-of-year exams.
鈥淓veryone uses digital devices during their free time, so I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 something that should be taught in school,鈥� student Melina Sallahi said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nothing I鈥檓 worried about.鈥�
Classmate Aslan 脰zhan Kilicasan added, 鈥淲e learn much more easily when we use books.鈥�
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