Banning mobile phones in primary schools is in itself a good measure, say Sweden’s teachers, but is that the only thing the politicians have to come up with after the gloomy reading of Sweden’s results in the Pisa survey, asks the union president Åsa Fahlén.
– It’s a band-aid on a severed carotid artery, she says.
The PISA results, like previous years’ results, point to the biggest problem in Swedish schools – the differences between different student groups, says Åsa Fahlén.
In order to remedy the inequality, much greater efforts are required than a mobile phone ban, she believes.
– The politicians need to take national responsibility for the financing of the school. Today we see that municipalities do not have enough money and that they are cutting back. Many municipalities find it difficult to cope with the compensatory task and then there is a lack of equivalence.
Labor market and integration minister Johan Pehrson (L) calls the measure “a cultural change” which, according to Tidöpartierna’s assessment, will contribute to better knowledge results, but that assessment is not shared by Åsa Fahlén.
Instead, she believes that politicians should put more effort into making sure that teachers get more time for preparation and follow-up work and that they have the right number of students in their class.
– A teacher who has time to prepare, has the right number of students in his class and who afterwards has time to think about how to proceed, creates better knowledge in addition to study breaks, says Åsa Fahlén.
FACTS Pisa results 2022
Big loss in maths and reading: Sweden got 482 points in maths (-21 points compared to 2018) and in reading comprehension 487 (-19 points).
The average score in science was 494 (-6 points).
The loss in mathematics means that an average Swedish 15-year-old in Pisa 2022 performed at the level a 14-year-old would have done in 2018.
Reading and math results fell to the same low level as in 2012.
Sweden’s score was above the OECD average, but 11 countries were significantly better in mathematics, 9 countries were better in reading comprehension and 10 were better in science.
The fact that Sweden stayed above the OECD average is because most other countries also backed down in Pisa 2022.
The very best in mathematics was Japan (536 points). Japan was also best in science (547 points). Best in reading comprehension were Ireland and Japan (both had 516 points).
Sources: OECD and Swedish National Agency for Education
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