At Furuborgsskolan in Nykvarn, a new initiative has improved students' reading comprehension. 15 minutes of video viewing per day – with VR goggles.
VR technology is often associated with computer games. But at Furuborgsskolan in Nykvarn, it is being used to try and remedy the deteriorating reading ability of Swedish students.
- I've gotten better and don't skip lines, says ten-year-old Hedda Mikkonen.
Teacher Linnéa Westman is also pleased with the result.
"Students stream completely normal content, but the image is split in two and moves, very minimally," says teacher Linnéa Westman.
With the VR goggles on, the eye does not perceive the image as moving.
- But in reality, the eyes are trained to follow this image, Linnéa Westman continues.
One in four has problems with reading comprehension
According to statistics from the Swedish National Agency for Education, 19,700 students lacked eligibility for upper secondary school in the spring of 2025. The PISA report from 2022, which measures students' knowledge, also shows that one in four Swedish students do not reach a basic level in reading comprehension.
The VR technology has been developed in collaboration with researchers at Karolinska Institutet and is used in several Swedish schools. 15 minutes of VR training per day has proven to be effective for students' reading ability at Furuborgsskolan in Nykvarn.
– It has improved significantly, the difference is of course greatest among those students who had not started reading in the same way, but we can see that even the students who were good readers have developed, says Linnéa Westman.
Link to report: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/sodertalje/sa-loste-skolan-i-nykvarn-elevernas-lasforstaelse-med-vr
