On the effects of classroom acoustics and noise on the well-being of first-graders at school

Several recent studies have shown that poor acoustic conditions inside classrooms negatively affect the optimal teaching-learning process. On the one side the teacher’s vocal effort is stressed, on the other side pupils’ attainment and performance can decrease significantly. Much has been done assessing both aspects through objective measures, such as voice monitoring and speech intelligibility tests in-field, respectively. However, further research should be focused on pupils in the early stages of education, as there is an evidence of the growing need to investigate on side aspects and comorbidities that may influence their performance at school. In particular, high background noise levels are proved to reduce subjects’ scores, which can then turn into a decrease in self-esteem and motivation, thus in the socio-emotional development and quality of school life. This work is a pilot study to investigate to which extent classroom acoustics affects the perceived well-being and noisiness in first-graders. About 200 pupils voluntarily agreed in participating in the study. They belonged to 12 classes from 7 primary schools located in Torino (Italy), where acoustic measurements were performed in compliance to the DIN 18041 standard and where noise was monitored during several teaching activities. Trained experimenters administrated questionnaires in each class, where pupils answered to the questions all together at approximately the last month of the school year (May). Questions were based on a multidimensional measure of school-related quality of life that included subscales assessing commitment to classwork, relations to teachers, satisfaction and noisiness perception. Preliminary results based on a correlation analysis show that pupils “find pleasant to stay at school” if optimal acoustic conditions are present, i.e. with lower noise levels, shorter reverberation times and higher clarity.