The COVID-19 pandemic was a forceful reminder that education plays an important role in delivering not just academic learning, but also in supporting physical and emotional well-being. Balancing traditional “book learning” with broader social and personal development means new roles for schools and education more generally. This volume is part of a series that examines the intersections between education, well-being and digital technologies. Complementing the first volume Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age, this volume turns the spotlight on physical health and well-being. It explores the important role of play and risk-taking in learning. It examines the “pursuit of perfection” and the impact on children’s lives, whether it be physical, cognitive or academic. It highlights important efforts countries have made to tackle inequality and protect and empower students in both physical and digital environments. It ends with a look at the pending agenda, underscoring the role of partnerships, policy and protection.

1. Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
Education in the Digital Age:
Healthy and Happy Children
https://doi.org/10.1787/b7f33425-en

2. 2
Recently published
Modern
Childhood
The
importance
of play
The
pursuit of
perfection
Policies,
practices,
partnerships and
the pending
agenda
Digital
technologies
and physical
health

3. Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
P A R T
O N E
21st century trends in
physical health and
digital technology
P A R T
T W O
The serious side of physical and
digital play and the key role of
risk-taking for healthy learning
and development
P A R T
F O U R
Policies and practices promoting
children’s empowerment, health
and safety, as well as teacher
support and partnerships
P A R T
T H R E E
The increasing pressure for
success and perfection in
different domains: physical,
academic, digital
HEALTHY AND HAPPY CHILDREN
EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL
AGE

4. Physical health trends
Rates of cannabis use
Decrease
No significant change
Consume soft drinks
daily
Consume more fruits and
vegetables
Do not eat breakfast
Have higher body weight
Increase
Drink less alcohol
Smoke less
Sleep less
Are less active

5. 5
Overview of priorities and pressing challenges in
physical health across countries and systems
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Gang Violence
Pollution/Environmental Factors
Communicable Diseases
Underweight/Undernutrition
Use of "Smart Drugs"/Cognitive Enhancers
Vaccine Refusal
Abuse
Teen Pregnancy
Illicit Recreational Drug Consumption
STD/STI
Poor Sleep Habits or Sleep Disorders
Smoking/Tobacco Use
Alcohol Consumption
Poor Nutrition
Bullying/Fighting
Overweight/Obesity
Lack of Exercise
Marked as challenge Marked as pressing challenge

6. 6
Trends in digital technology
Rise of IoT, AI and
Social Robots
Instagram, TikTok,
Snapchat > Facebook
First experience with
digital technology at
younger ages
Increase in time
spent onlineIncrease in home
Internet access
Exposure to digital
risks
2nd Digital DivideChildren as content
creators
Online civic
engagement

7. 7
Overview of priorities and pressing challenges in digital
technologies across countries and systems
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Revenge Porn
First Digital Divide
Online Predators
Sexting
Security and Privacy
Harmful Content
Internet Addiction/Gaming Disorder
Second Digital Divide
Excessive Use
Cyber-Bullying
Digital Citizenship
Marked as a challenge Marked as pressing challenge

8. 8
The importance
of play

9. 9
Outdoor Risky Play
Time
Freedom
Decrease of time
spent in play
Children relegated
to defined play
areas
Space
Freedom
Decrease in
children’s freedom to
engage in the play
they choose
Children’s physical activity comes primarily from
play
Children are:
• more physically active and less sedentary when playing
outside than when indoors.
• more physically active when unsupervised by adults and
with their peers.
• Injury statistics indicate that the fear of an adverse outcome
may not be commensurate with the likelihood of such an
event and may result in excessive limitation of children’s
risky play opportunities.
Chapter 4: Mariana Brussoni

10. 10
Digital play
• Enhance attentional control and other aspects of cognition
Games that combine the demand to answer under time pressure, with the need for distributed
attention, and the capacity to swiftly shift from distributed to focused attention, as well as
between goals and sub-goals.
Many children around OECD countries engage in some form of play in the digital environment
Action video games
Minecraft as an example of a game that has been taken up and adapted by informal educators and
even school curriculum, due to:
• Enhance the development of digital skills
• Positively impact the social and interpersonal dimension
• Risk of “datafication”
From entertainment to educational games
Chapter 6: Julian Sefton- Green

11. 11
Not all (digital) play is created equal
Delivery interface matters
The type of media matters
Context matters
Content matters
Social media won’t have the same effects as
playing videogames
Screen time for shared activities won’t have the
same impact as watching a video alone
Educational videogames won’t have the same
impact as a social simulation videogame
Interactivity matters
The device can distract from or contribute to
achieving learning objectives
The interactivity of action video game play won’t
elicit the same attentional processes as a puzzle
Chapter 5: Benoit Bediou, Michael Rich and Daphne Bavelier

12. 12
The Pursuit
of Perfection

13. the thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and behaviours related to one’s body and embodiment, that
is the experience of inhabiting one’s body
13
Body image in children and adolescents
• Body image is a multidimensional concept
• Social media use in children and adolescents may be
related to poorer body image through:Media
content
Individual
characteristics
Media
format
The promotion of unrealistic
and unattainable appearance
ideals
The sexualisation
and objectification
of individuals in
media
Chapter 7: Rachel Rodgers

14. Taking prescription drugs is the most common form of cognitive enhancement, which aims to
increase functions such as memory, concentration and wakefulness
14
Pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement (PCE)
• Rates of PCE use in children seem to be rising, although
more research is needed to determine prevalence rates
• Many experts conclude that PCE in children is not
advisable, and little is known of the long term risks
• Parents are key enablers or gatekeepers; they can inspire
other parents to encourage or limit this behaviour in their
own children
• Societal factors and performance pressure in school can
also influence prevalence of PCE
Enhance knowledge
of PCE efficacy and
risks
Determine more exact
prevalence estimates
Better understand
decision-making of
relevant stakeholders
Evaluate effectiveness of
prevention strategies and
regulations
We need to:
Chapter 8:
Sebastian Sattler

15. Digital native discourse: young people are considered “native speakers of the digital language of
computers, video games and the Internet”, but young people and their uses of technology cannot be
understood as one homogeneous group and their digital activities vary greatly
15
The myth of the digital native
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Watched video clips
Listened to music online
Commmunicated with family or friends
Visited a social networking site
Played online games
Used the Internet for homework
Browsed for things to buy or to see what things cost
Looked for news online
Averageacrosscountries
Percentage of children who answered daily or almost daily, several times a day or all the time
Percentage of Internet users aged 9-16 who carry out online activities daily
Chapter 9: Rebecca Eynon
Source: Adapted from (Smahel et al., 2020) EU Kids Online 2020 survey results from 19 countries

16. 16
Policies and
practices

17. • Teach children about own health and
health of others
• Foster children’s health literacy
• Tools: Curriculum, partnerships,
frameworks and informational
campaigns
17
Empowering children to make healthy decisions
Incorporating
health and digital
skills into teaching
and learning
Developing
skills
Building
knowledge
• Digital skills to search for
information on physical well-
being
• Health and science
competencies
• Media and science literacy
• Foster healthy habits
(school meals, physical
activity)
• Encourage ethical digital
engagement
• Targeted support for
disadvantaged students

18. 18
Child nutrition
• Dietary habits and nutrition of children influenced age, socio-economic status, food preference and taste,
marketing.
• Cost can be a barrier to consumption of healthy food
• Many children eat at least one meal per day at school
• Access to healthy food at school affects student physical and emotional well-being and supports learning.
Education systems play a key role in enhancing children’s nutrition through:
Diffusion of
information and
dissemination
materials
Provision of free
or subsidised
meals
Establishment
of
partnerships
Incorporation of
nutrition in the
curriculum
Establishment of
healthy food
environment in
schools

19. 19
Child safety in physical and digital environments
• Information resources and campaigns
• Child centred support outside of school
• Reporting mechanisms
• National frameworks and policies
• Legal avenues
• Safe log-ins and single sign on
• Secure content and filters in schools
• Integrated approaches
• Reduce traffic in school neighbourhoods
• Guidelines for pollution in kindergartens
and elementary schools
• Guidelines on safe play spaces to improve
design and functionality, safety and
hygiene
• Reduce indoor pollution
Pollution
Traffic
Play spaces Cyberbullying
Sexting and
revenge porn
Security and
Privacy
Harmful
content
Enhance child safety through protected spaces
and decreased injury
Enhance the realisation of virtual spaces in
which children can safely play, learn and explore

20. 20
Key
messages

21. • Research on younger
children (0-8 years old)
• Causal links between
technology use and child
outcomes
• Emphasis on how and
why children use
technology, including
potential benefits
• Identify how to screen
and identify at risk
children
• Intervene with younger
and younger children
• Explain multiple
outcomes and indicators
• Longitudinal studies
• Multiple methods
• Working with young people
• Comparable international
indicators
Priority research areas to address

22. Five key policy messages
We need to:
Include the voices of children
Adequately support teachers
Address policy fragmentation

23. 23
Supporting teachers for modern classrooms
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Physical health of students Digital skills and ability to use
technology
Use of technology in teaching Assessing online risks to students
Digital competence in teachers
Required (by national curriculum, standards or other) Covered in most programmes Covered in some programmes Not widely available
New expectations for teachers require building new skills and capacity for the teaching workforce,
although there is room to improve teacher education offerings and quality
Topics covered in teacher education (initial and continuing professional development)

24. Five key policy messages
We need to:
Build and reinforce partnerships with other
sectors
Acknowledge the importance of culture and
tradition, and address systemic bias

25. 25
Building cross-sectoral collaboration and partnerships
Partnerships between schools and external actors are
important for programme and policy implementation
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Experts in cybersecurity
Programmers
Fitness professionals (e.g. coaches, trainers)
Dieticians/nutrition experts
Community institutions
Law enforcement
Dentists
Guidance counselors
Medical practitioners (e.g. doctors, nurses)
Mental health professionals (e.g. psychologists,…
Parents/families
Required (by recommendations, standards, or law) Present in most schools
Present in some schools Not widely established

26. Thank you!
For more information see:
http://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/21st-century-children.htm
Contact: Tracey.BURNS@oecd.org