Editing Openai/696938e8-11e0-800e-9700-cae6d8e723b6 (section)

=== Assistant: Yes — some countries/regions have moved beyond just restricting smartphones and are rolling back or banning electronic … ===
Yes — some countries/regions have moved beyond just restricting smartphones and are rolling back or banning ''electronic smart devices used as pedagogical tools'' in classrooms. The most prominent case is Sweden and other Scandinavian countries:

International shifts on digital learning tools in schoolsFuturaÉchec cuisant des écrans à l'école : la Suède revient aux livres pour sauver l’éducationFeb 15, 2025<ref>{{cite web|title=FuturaÉchec cuisant des écrans à l'école : la Suède revient aux livres pour sauver l’éducationFeb 15, 2025|url=https://www.futura-sciences.com/sante/actualites/enfant-echec-cuisant-ecrans-ecole-suede-revient-livres-sauver-education-119541/|publisher=FuturaÉchec cuisant des écrans à l'école : la Suède revient aux livres pour sauver l’éducationFeb 15, 2025|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>WorldcrunchScreens In Classrooms? A Serious Swedish Debate Spreads WorldwideSep 15, 2025<ref>{{cite web|title=WorldcrunchScreens In Classrooms? A Serious Swedish Debate Spreads WorldwideSep 15, 2025|url=https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/sweden-phones-in-schools/|publisher=WorldcrunchScreens In Classrooms? A Serious Swedish Debate Spreads WorldwideSep 15, 2025|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>Courrier internationalÉducation. Après avoir misé sur le numérique à l’école, les pays scandinaves font machine arrièreApr 15, 2024<ref>{{cite web|title=Courrier internationalÉducation. Après avoir misé sur le numérique à l’école, les pays scandinaves font machine arrièreApr 15, 2024|url=https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/education-apres-avoir-mise-sur-le-numerique-a-l-ecole-les-pays-scandinaves-font-machine-arriere|publisher=Courrier internationalÉducation. Après avoir misé sur le numérique à l’école, les pays scandinaves font machine arrièreApr 15, 2024|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>
===== 1. Sweden — Reversing Digital-First Education =====

Sweden had invested heavily in replacing textbooks with digital tools (tablets, laptops, electronic resources). After roughly 15 years of widespread digital learning, the government decided to de-emphasize and reduce the use of screens and electronic devices as core teaching tools. The shift is motivated by concerns that heavy reliance on screens did not improve learning outcomes and coincided with declining student performance on international assessments. As part of this policy, printed textbooks and traditional methods are being reintroduced as central pedagogical tools. Futura<ref>{{cite web|title=Futura|url=https://www.futura-sciences.com/sante/actualites/enfant-echec-cuisant-ecrans-ecole-suede-revient-livres-sauver-education-119541/|publisher=futura-sciences.com|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>

Similar “digital retreat” discussions are present more broadly in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway) where national conversations reflect dissatisfaction with the educational impact of tablets, laptops, and constant screen use in everyday teaching. Courrier international<ref>{{cite web|title=Courrier international|url=https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/education-apres-avoir-mise-sur-le-numerique-a-l-ecole-les-pays-scandinaves-font-machine-arriere|publisher=Courrier international|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>

===== 2. Regional policy moves banning or strictly restricting devices in instruction =====

Some governments/regions are going further than just limiting personal phones and are phasing out or restricting tablets and other individual smart devices as regular teaching tools:
* Madrid (Spain, regional policy) — A new regulation bans individual digital devices (tablets, laptops, phones) in early childhood and primary schools (ages ~0–12), with only restricted and supervised uses allowed, moving away from ubiquitous individual device use as a pedagogical strategy. European Edtech Alliance<ref>{{cite web|title=European Edtech Alliance|url=https://www.edtecheurope.org/news/banning-digital-devices-in-schools-a-step-backward-for-education|publisher=European Edtech Alliance|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>
* Switzerland (Canton of Nidwalden) — Schools have rules banning mobile phones, tablets, and laptops on campus unless explicitly required for instruction, signaling a boundary between educationally justified use and everyday device use. SWI swissinfo.ch<ref>{{cite web|title=SWI swissinfo.ch|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/education/swiss-canton-to-bank-mobile-phones-in-schools/89264534|publisher=SWI swissinfo.ch|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>

===== What these policies aim to address =====

These decisions reflect a shift in educational philosophy in some systems, based on concerns that:
* Ubiquitous devices distract rather than enhance learning when not tightly integrated into pedagogical goals.
* Excessive screen time may negatively impact attention, memory, and classroom engagement.
* Some countries want to reinforce traditional literacy and thinking skills (reading printed texts, handwriting, teacher-facilitated interaction) as foundational before layering digital tools. Futura<ref>{{cite web|title=Futura|url=https://www.futura-sciences.com/sante/actualites/enfant-echec-cuisant-ecrans-ecole-suede-revient-livres-sauver-education-119541/|publisher=futura-sciences.com|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>

In other words, it’s not a blanket rejection of all technology in education, but a policy decision to limit or ban smart devices unless they serve clear, structured instructional purposes, reversing earlier trends that emphasized digital tools as central to teaching. This is most visible in Sweden’s policy shifts and similar debates in parts of Europe. Futura<ref>{{cite web|title=Futura|url=https://www.futura-sciences.com/sante/actualites/enfant-echec-cuisant-ecrans-ecole-suede-revient-livres-sauver-education-119541/|publisher=futura-sciences.com|access-date=2026-01-16}}</ref>