Sweden rethinks digital learning
Social reports say Sweden is moving away from digital-first classroom programs after Norway’s iPad experiment correlated with falling reading scores, prompting a return to book-based learning in some districts (x.com).
Sweden is shifting its schools away from digital-first teaching and back toward printed textbooks, handwriting, and more supervised reading time. (government.se) The policy turn has been underway since 2023, when the government introduced grants for textbooks and teachers’ guides in preschool classes and compulsory school. The funding totaled 685 million Swedish kronor in 2023, 658 million in 2024, 755 million in 2025, and 555 million for 2026 and later years. (government.se) Sweden also changed its Education Act on July 1, 2024, to clarify that pupils must have access to textbooks and other learning tools. The government says it is aiming for one textbook per pupil and subject, after years when access to printed materials was not guaranteed. (government.se) The backdrop is weaker reading performance. Sweden’s national education agency says 15-year-olds in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment scored lower in reading and mathematics than in 2018, with reading back at the same level as 2012. (skolverket.se) Sweden’s government has tied that response directly to screen use in early grades. In its February 2024 policy outline, it said digital learning aids should be introduced only at ages when they help rather than hinder learning, and that their use must be cautious and deliberate. (government.se) Norway is part of the regional context, but the evidence is narrower than viral posts suggest. Norway’s education directorate says tablets are the most common digital device in primary school, and students in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment reported 3.1 hours a day using digital resources for learning at school. (udir.no) Norway also uses the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, or PIRLS, to track reading among 10-year-olds over time. The directorate says the test is designed to show trends and give policymakers a chance to make adjustments while children are still early in their schooling. (udir.no) Sweden’s reversal is broader than books alone. The Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, approved changes requiring staffed school libraries from July 1, 2025, and the government said in 2024 that it would spend 216 million kronor on school libraries in 2025 and 433 million in 2026. (riksdagen.se; government.se) Researchers and school officials have not argued that every screen is harmful in every class. The Swedish government’s own language leaves room for digital tools, but says they should come later and be used where they support, rather than replace, foundational skills such as reading, writing by hand, and sustained attention. (government.se; undark.org) The result is less a ban on technology than a change in sequence. In Sweden’s current model, books, paper, pens, and libraries are being rebuilt first, and screens are being pushed back to a smaller, more deliberate role. (government.se; undark.org)
