Sweden is in the midst of a drastic U-turn from a natural reliance of the use of digital tools together with the children in preschools to back to “normal teaching methods” where analogue methods take preference. A slogan was coined and presented by Johan Pehrson and Lotta Edholm (Liberal party) at a press conference in October 2023. Sweden will revert from screen to leaf (skärm till pärm) and plans to affect preschools nationwide.

This thesis explores the concepts, challenges, constraints and implications that have emerged since the slogan “screen to leaf” came to light as well as the revised curriculum for preschools in Sweden that comes into force on 1st July 2025. It uses an inductive thematic analysis to pinpoint further themes related to the constraints and challenges found in the teachers’ and leaders’ accounts of digital use. These themes included: the language skills of the teachers, the importance of the roles of the teachers’ and leaders’, skills for the future, and the potential implications that the revised curriculum may have on sustainability (economic, ecologic and social sustainability). The study contributes to giving a clear insight to factors that educators, policymakers and leaders alike need to understand and account for in this time of change.