Digital Textbooks: Will Expanded Use Improve Students’ Academic Performance?

Editorial

15:00 JST, September 9, 2025

Signs of declining academic performance are evident among both elementary school and junior high school students. The prevailing view is that the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of digital devices for prolonged spells have contributed to this situation.

Under such circumstances, can it truly be said that pushing ahead with digitizing textbooks is in the best interests of children? Concerns cannot be dispelled.

A working group of the Central Council for Education under the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has released the final outline of its draft regarding the utilization of digital textbooks. In the outline, the working group views digital textbooks, which are currently considered “alternative teaching materials,” as official textbooks, mandating state screening and their use in classrooms.

It envisions that local boards of education will select from among three options — paper textbooks, digital textbooks or a hybrid format combining both types — tailored to each grade and subject. The ministry aims to implement the new system starting in the 2030 academic year when the Courses of Study is renewed.

Digital textbooks are currently used alongside paper textbooks for English in the fifth and sixth grades of elementary schools and in all years at junior high schools as well as in arithmetic and mathematics for some areas of study. The aim in the draft outline is likely to expand this scope and increase the use of digital textbooks.

In practice, many boards of education are expected to choose a hybrid format. However, switching back and forth between digital and paper material during class is said to disrupt children’s concentration due to device operation and also the “cognitive load” for processing information is also high.

Numerous studies show that paper is superior for deep thinking and memorization. The hybrid format should ideally keep paper as the primary format, with digital serving only a supplementary role.

In the fiscal 2024 survey of the academic performance of sixth grade elementary school and third-year junior high school students conducted by the education ministry, a significant decline in scores was seen compared to the previous survey conducted in fiscal 2021. This is thought to be due to the impact of student’s learning being constrained due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of smartphones and other devices for prolonged spells.

In Sweden and Finland, a return to paper-based textbooks from digital textbooks is progressing, citing reasons like declining academic performance. Japan, as if going against the tide, is pushing to expand the use of digital textbooks.

In schools, some children use the learning devices distributed by the government to play games or watch videos unrelated to education during class. It is hard to believe that further immersion in the digital environment will enhance learning effectiveness.

Compulsory education has been based on the premise of providing a uniform standard of education nationwide. Leaving the decision of using paper or digital formats to individual boards of education raises concerns about potential disparities in academic performance. Should national education policy be determined solely based on the opinions of the working group that promotes digitization?

Expanding digitization also presents numerous issues, including cost burdens and the need to improve the telecommunications infrastructure. Rather than moving ahead with a digital-first mindset, learning effectiveness and usability must be carefully reviewed anew.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 9, 2025)