SCHOOLS should devote more time to reading to reverse a decline in standards of literacy, an international expert has said.
Dr Pasi Sahlberg, a former director general of Finland’s Ministry for Education, said the proliferation of hand-held computers and the widespread use of social media was creating a generation of pupils who were not reading as much as in the past.
The comments came after the second meeting of the Scottish Government's newly-convened International Council of Education Advisers (ICEA) which was established to provide a critical eye on school policy.
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The group has not yet made any formal recommendations to ministers, but Dr Sahlberg said one concern was that pupils across the developed world were not reading enough.
He said: "Smartphones and tablets have only been in mainstream use for the past six years so we simply don't know what their impact has been on young people, but my view would be that if reading is becoming more difficult because then this is what we need to do more of in schools.
"We need to bring books back into the classroom and devote more time to reading and look at whether we should be calling off the current trend to bring more technology into schools."
Dr Carol Campbell, an education adviser to Ontario, said ICEA was fully prepared to challenge the Scottish Government on its policies as part of its work.
Read more: Education Bill delayed after raft of concerns from councils and parents
Last week, it was suggested the relationship between some members of the group and ministers was too "warm" after a number posted selfies of themselves with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister John Swinney. Other have been given awards by the Scottish Government.
Mrs Campbell said: "We have been brought together to give our best advice for the benefit of Scotland's children and if you look into our biographies we are all strong personalities.
"We have robust debates with each other as well as with Mr Swinney and the government officials involved. None of us would have come if it was about rubber-stamping government policy."
Read more: Education Bill delayed after raft of concerns from councils and parents
ICEA has established three key themes so far including improving leadership and professional learning and building collective responsibility amongst all staff in Scottish education. They will also focus on what works best to close the equity gap between rich and poor.
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