Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

https://undark.org/2026/04/01/sweden-schools-books/

Why Swedish Schools Are Bringing Back Books

Amid declining test scores, the country has pivoted away from screens and invested in back-to-basics school materials.

Undark Magazine

A very similar development is going on in neighboring Finland. There are schools that use almost exclusively paper books (instead of digital ones) again. The overall consensus among parents is that books are way better than screens for kids, all the way up to high school. Hand-writing and free drawing with pen and paper provide many advantages to fixed screens. You cannot open a new tab to Youtube in a book. The significance of these things is finally recognized now. Parents are also worried about the short video brain rot and psychological "capture" of our kids by social media companies.

Naturally, the kids should learn AI and AI workflows also. And personal AI assistants can probably help many kids in their studies. Learning AI should be its own subject but that should not ruin the way kids study other subjects where there are proven old ways to get to great results.

Source: I have 10 Finnish kids

Edit: FYI: an old (2018) link to an article about a finding about the matter: https://yle.fi/a/3-10514984 "Finland’s digital-based curriculum impedes learning, researcher finds"

Finland’s digital-based curriculum impedes learning, researcher finds

A Helsinki University researcher says Finland's current digital and 'phenomenon-based' learning methods used in schools may not be suitable for all students.

News

The same thing is happening in Norway now too. The general attitudes have shifted quite a lot in the last few years. In recent months the Department of Education has committed to reducing screen usage across the board, but particularly in grades 1 to 4.

https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/endrer-skolehverdagen-... [link in Norwegian, no English source available]

Endrer skolehverdagen for de yngste

Arbeiderparti-regjeringen varsler store endringer for 1. og 2. klassingene. Redusert skjermbruk blir forskriftsfestet allerede i vår. Samtidig utredes en ny organisering av innhold og struktur for de yngste elevene i norsk skole.

Regjeringen.no