[One Day One Thousand Characters] Swedish Schools Returning to Paper Books and Handwriting

Sweden, which had accelerated digital learning, has decided to adopt traditional educational methods using paper books and handwriting instead of digital tools in schools.

According to reports from the UK Guardian and France's Le Monde, many schools across Sweden are conducting classes, reading time, and writing practice using paper books. The use of electronic devices such as tablet PCs, online searches, and typing practice has decreased. The Swedish government announced that it will invest 685 million kronor (approximately 82.3 billion KRW) for book purchases allocated to each school. An additional 500 million kronor (about 60 billion KRW) will be invested annually in 2024 and 2025. This decision follows criticism that overly digitalized learning methods have led to a decline in students' literacy and learning abilities. There is also a plan to completely stop digital learning for children under six years old.

Swedish School Scene
Photo by Sweden Image Bank

According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which assesses the reading ability of 4th-grade elementary students, Sweden's average score in 2021 was 544, down from 555 in 2016, ranking 7th alongside Taiwan. Singapore, which ranked first, improved its PIRLS reading score from 576 to 587 during the same period, while the UK's average reading achievement score slightly decreased from 559 in 2016 to 558 in 2021. Experts note that this reflects an increase in immigrant students who do not speak Swedish as their native language due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they also warn that excessive screen use during school lessons may cause young people to fall behind in core subjects.

Swedish Minister of Education Lotta Edholm said, "The digitalization reform in schools has gone too far. This is part of an effort to reduce screen time and restore reading in schools." She added, "Because of screens, children move less, read less, and use pen and paper less," and cited research showing that "reading books leads to a 'deeper understanding' than reading on screens."

Swedish School Scene
[Photo by Sweden Image Bank]

The Karolinska Institute in Sweden stated last month in a declaration on the country's educational digitalization that "there is clear scientific evidence that digital tools hinder rather than enhance students' learning abilities," and explained that "focus should be on acquiring knowledge through printed textbooks and teachers' expertise rather than from free digital sources whose accuracy is not verified." An elementary school teacher said, "Students under 10 years old need time, practice, and repetition to write by hand before they can write on tablets."

Previously, Sweden launched a national digitalization strategy for the school system in 2017 as part of a new digital strategy. The goal was for Sweden to become "the world leader in leveraging digitalization opportunities." According to a 2022 European Commission study, 76% of Swedish youth aged 16 to 19 possess basic or above basic digital skills, which is significantly higher than the EU average of 69%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.