The government hopes that the return to traditional methods will improve Sweden’s ranking in the PISA tests – the OECD’s benchmark for education. Once a top performer, Sweden faced a sharp decline in 2012 and then, after a brief recovery, another decline in math and reading in 2022.
The Swedish government is promoting a new focus on physical books, paper and pens in classrooms, aiming to reverse declining literacy rates. But the return to analog devices has been criticized by technology companies, teachers and computer scientists, who argue that it could affect students’ employment prospects and even hurt the Nordic country’s economy. At a high school in Nacka, near Stockholm, seniors are pulling laptops out of their backpacks, along with items they say they used less often a few years ago.
“Now I often come home from school with new books and notebooks,” says Sophie, 18. She adds that one teacher “has started printing out all the textbooks we use in class,” while a digital platform in maths has been replaced by book-only teaching. This view contradicts Sweden’s reputation as one of the most technologically advanced societies in Europe, thanks to a high level of digital skills and a thriving tech start-up scene. Laptops became commonplace in Swedish classrooms in the late 2000s and early 2010s. By 2015, around 80% of students in state-run upper secondary schools had individual access to digital devices, according to official figures. Mandatory use of tablets in pre-schools was included in the curriculum in 2019, as part of the previous Social Democratic government’s effort to prepare even the youngest children for an increasingly digital life.
But the current right-wing coalition, which came to power in 2022, is changing the direction of education. “We are actually trying to remove screens as much as possible,” says Joar Forsell, education spokesman for the Liberal Party, whose leader is Sweden’s education minister. “At older ages you can use them a little more, but at younger ages, or in school, I don’t think screens should be used at all,” he adds.
The government often uses the slogan “från skärm till pärm,” which sounds catchy in Swedish and translates to “from screen to folder/binder.” It argues that screen-free learning creates better conditions for concentration and the development of reading and writing skills. As of 2025, preschoolers will no longer be required to use digital devices, and tablets will not be given to children under the age of two. A ban on mobile phones in schools, even for educational use, will also come into effect later this year. Schools have already been allocated more than 2.1 billion kronor (about $200 million) in grants to invest in textbooks and teacher guides. A new curriculum, aimed at strengthening book-based learning, is expected in 2028.
“Reading real books and writing on real paper, and doing math on real paper, is much better if you want children to get the knowledge they need,” Forsell argues. This change in approach came after a 2023 consultation with academic researchers, teaching organizations, public agencies, and municipalities.
“There has been a growing awareness of the disruptions that technology is causing in the classroom,” says Dr. Sissela Nutley, a neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, who is among those who have raised concerns about the use of digital tools. Nutley says students can lose focus by looking at what other children are doing on screens. She also points to a number of international studies that suggest that reading on digital devices makes it harder to process information and that excessive screen use can also affect brain development in young students.
BAD RESULT IN PISA
The government hopes that the return to traditional methods will improve Sweden’s ranking in the PISA tests – the OECD’s benchmark for education. Once a top performer, Sweden suffered a sharp decline in 2012 and then, after a brief recovery, another decline in maths and reading in 2022. Although still slightly above the OECD average, the country performed worse in literacy than the UK, US, Denmark and Finland. Around a quarter (24%) of 15–16 year olds did not achieve the basic level of reading comprehension.
“We know that children who have gone through the entire school system with lots of screens are lagging behind in international comparisons,” says Forsell.
An OECD report on education in Sweden, published in January this year, concluded that Swedish students generally benefit from digital tools. However, it noted that there are many digital distractions in the classroom and that high use of digital devices in mathematics is associated with lower scores. However, these scores were still higher than for students who do not use digital devices at all. Andreas Schleicher, director for education at the OECD, warns against drawing simple “cause and effect” links, but says Sweden’s more “extreme” use of technology has influenced its results. “They just put a lot of devices in the classroom without a clear pedagogical purpose,” he argues.
WORRY ABOUT FUTURE JOBS
But in Sweden, the government’s strategy to return to books has sparked heated debate in the business community. A new report from the Swedish Edtech Industry association warns that a more analog education could be less prepared for the jobs of the future. “Everyone needs basic digital skills to enter the job market,” says its chief executive, Jannie Jeppesen, a former teacher. She cites an EU report that estimates that 90% of jobs will soon require digital skills. Jeppesen is also concerned about the impact on entrepreneurship and innovation.
Sweden is currently the leading country in Europe for the creation of tech “unicorns” (companies valued at over $1 billion) relative to its population. These include Spotify and Legora, an AI platform for the legal profession. These companies “will move elsewhere” if they don’t find the right IT skills in Sweden, she argues.
There is also the issue of the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI). The Swedish government wants secondary schools to teach about the opportunities and risks of AI, but some critics say AI should also be included in the education of younger children. Without such measures, children from wealthier families, whose parents can help them with technology, will have an advantage, creating a “digital divide,” warns Professor Linnea Stenliden of Linköping University. But in parliament, Forsell insists that children should not learn AI without first having basic skills, and rejects the idea that the more traditional approach increases inequality. “You can only give people the opportunities that inequality has taken away from them by giving them the right education,” he says.
However, Jeppesen calls this a “populist” stance. She says the “digital versus books” debate distracts from other problems, such as the unequal distribution of educational resources and teacher skills. In Nacka, even seniors are divided. “The internet has taken over the younger generations a bit, and I’ve noticed that they lose focus more easily,” says Alexis, 18, who doesn’t want his younger siblings to use as many digital devices as his generation. But others, like Jasmine, 19, are in favor of digital education, even for primary school children.
“Let’s focus more on computers. Because if we’re realistic, the whole world is using computers.” (BBC)