The results of the latest PISA survey are clear: the level of 15-year-old French students has reached a historically low level. Compared to the 2022 edition, France shows a clear decline in reading comprehension (-18 points) and mathematics (-16 points), while maintaining relative stability in sciences (-4 points).
If the country remains in the average of the 37 OECD nations affected by a similar decline, the Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, described this assessment as “worrying” without being “a surprise”targeting in particular the overconsumption of screens and the decline in parental involvement.
The gap between educational requirements and the reality of young people
Questioned by True Medical, Professor Ludovic Gicquel, child psychiatrist and head of the university child and adolescent psychiatry center at CH Laborit in Poitiers, analyzes this school crisis. According to him, the published data above all provide a collective inventory. “The PISA ranking reflects societal-level difficulties that affect a large number of adolescents. he recalls first of all. “It thus acts as a raw revealer of the developments of our time.”
How are these results explained? Firstly, by the fact that “School is historically based on essential cognitive prerequisites: sitting down, maintaining attention and providing prolonged effort. But today, the daily environment of adolescents has moved away from these requirements. This has created a disagreement between what National Education offers and what individuals are able to invest.” according to our expert.
When school becomes a “consumer good”
This rupture is partly explained by the multiplication of attentional disruptors on a daily basis. “To be concentrated, you must maintain a good lifestyle and in particular your sleep: if you sleep more, less or poorly, it is obvious that your concentration will be disrupted”adds Professor Gicquel.
The appearance of the cell phone, as a mode of communication and consumption of information among young people, is also pointed out by the doctor. “If you need to have continuity of thought, the bombardment of notifications can be quite disruptive. Receiving a notification every X seconds, it will take some time to concentrate again, each time.”
And that’s not all. The educational institution has lost its monopoly on access to knowledge, transforming young people’s relationship with schooling. “Being a little deliberately provocative, I would say that school, becoming a consumer good like any other, no longer interests these young consumers.”
Faced with a permanent and attractive digital offer, some adolescents drop out of school. “Society has created its own educational competition”he summarizes.
The screen, a “Trojan horse” in development
Furthermore, according to the child psychiatrist, if parents and political decision-makers struggle to measure the seriousness of the situation, it is because the damage of digital technology is not immediately visible. “The impact on reading comprehension or logical reasoning is revealed years later” he insists.
It also highlights the cultural gap that has widened between digital activities: on the one hand, the overconsumption of “pleasure” screens at home; on the other, the rejection of “educational” screens imposed for educational purposes. Without forgetting that adults themselves struggle to impose rules, being subject to the same interactive uses.
So how do we get things back in hand? To respond to the distress of families and stop this decline in skills, Professor Ludovic Gicquel recommends refocusing education on the physiological and cognitive needs of children rather than on the immediate satisfaction of their desires.
“We live in a society where what predominates is desire, it is no longer need. However, desires are by nature insatiable and impossible to satisfy. What must come first are the needs of adolescents, which are non-negotiable.”he recalls. “Sleep, nutrition, the development of motor skills, attention… All this requires the re-establishment of a clear framework by parents, to allow adolescents to get back on the path to learning.
5 tips for parents to set up a clear framework
To achieve this, it is essential to establish simple rules. Here are the concrete actions to put in place on a daily basis for your teenager:
- Digital curfew: Establish a fixed time (for example 8 p.m.) when all phones are left in the living room for the night to ensure real restful sleep;
- Evening meal without screen: Enforce presence at the table at dinner, without telephone or television, to guarantee regular eating and a peaceful moment of exchange;
- Weekly physical activity: Block a fixed time slot during the week for sports practice or an active outing in order to release energy and stimulate motor skills;
- 30 minute work sequences: Set a daily homework schedule where the phone stays out of the room for 30-minute focused work sessions;
- Written and displayed life charter: Co-write the house rules with the teenager (sleep, screens, tasks) and post them on the fridge to make the framework clear and indisputable.
By firmly following these five benchmarks, you put your child’s needs first, so that he can improve his learning and succeed better at school.