COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CN) — Smartphones, iPads, streaming services and YouTube. Kids these days have more access than ever to an almost infinite world of entertainment, and it seems the old paper book is being neglected.
Norway wants to change this. The government will allocate 25 million Norwegian kroner ($2.36 million) to school libraries in 30 municipalities, the Ministry of Education said in a press release Thursday.
The Scandinavian country aims to elevate its school libraries to facilitate “reading pleasure.” According to the plan, libraries will serve as inclusive social arenas, taking the different needs of children and young people into account. Libraries located in vulnerable areas were prioritized for funding.
“We see that children and young people are reading less and less and this is a trend we must reverse. Investing in school libraries is one of several important contributions. These are safe arenas where everyone - regardless of background - has access to the same books and learning,” Education Minister Tonje Brenna said Thursday.
The funding is part of a larger government campaign to reverse concerning trends from the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, released last year by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, an international research corporative.
Testing over 7,000 Norwegian pupils, the study showed that 10-year-olds’ reading abilities have had the biggest decline in the Nordic countries from 2016 to 2021, although they still performed above the average of all 65 countries in the survey. One in five Norwegian pupils scored either a low reading mastery level or below, meaning they are not able to read and understand a text adjusted to their age. The share of kids in that category doubled over a five-year period.
“This is serious. Reading is the most important building block in education, and if you lack basic reading skills it will be difficult to learn in all subjects,” said Morten Rosenkvist, director of the Norwegian Directorate of Education, in a May press release about the study.
Researchers behind the study said it could have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, as digital solutions were developed to teach students when schools were closed in Norway. A further analysis of the Norwegian results from the study is set for release in 2024.
According to the study, only 13% of the Norwegian pupils said that they enjoyed reading, compared to the international average of 42%. Digitalization has overtaken children’s priorities, Brenna said in May.
“In recent years, digitization has gone faster and faster throughout society,” she said. “Children spend more and more time on screens both at school and at home, and less time on paper books. If we are to strengthen reading, we must think more holistically.”
Targeting school libraries in vulnerable areas is a big part of the holistic approach. Under a trial period, libraries will extend their after-school hours. Those located close to city centers are expected to create safe social areas for children.
“School libraries are an important arena for community and inclusion, which can contribute to equalizing social inequality. That is why this year we have prioritized areas with poor living conditions,” Brenna said on Thursday.
The Norwegian government is currently working on a reading strategy to establish a better reading culture among children and young people, which is set to be completed in 2024.
Norway ranked 18th on the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study reading skill list. The top three countries were Singapore, Ireland and Hong Kong. The United States ranked 10th out of all 65 countries surveyed.
Follow @LasseSrensen13
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