This study is a report of the result of investigating the sound environment at setting childcare scene in nursery institutions focused on children's learning activity aiming to make the acoustic environment as their learning field. By the behavioral observation and the sound field analysis at activity scene, we observed the characteristic of sound field at each study scene and the change of the acoustic environment when the teacher was setting the learning environment. The result shows that the sound by the children's behavior was a keynote source at dynamic activity scene like singing and dancing. Especially, the level of 1-2kHz band by children's voice and low frequency sound was characteristic. And for making settled space that was attached weight in young children's educational field, teachers often used the sound factor by the setting environment scene and a moderate silence was a very important environmental factor. For acoustic design according to the educational purpose, many-sided investigation of the sound space was essential to understand the teacher's setting behavior and children's behavioral pattern.
A child with a developmental disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, has a high possibility of having atypical sensorial characteristics. Indeed, children with autism spectrum disorder often face great difficulties while listening to teachers’ instructions in noisy environments. Moreover, since some of their hearing is highly sensitive, specific or loud sounds may induce problematic behaviors. It is necessary to determine the acoustic requirements of a classroom by considering the atypical hearing properties of such children. In this study, we investigated the acoustic problems of schoolrooms for special-needs education and the methods to improve their sound environment. First, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the supervising teachers of the special-needs education class, and the children’s disorders, hearing properties, and problems caused by the acoustic environment were examined. Simultaneously, an observational survey of the school was performed and acoustic problems were overviewed. Second, as a means to find a method to improve the problems caused by sound, a small calming space was constructed with metal frames surrounded by sound-absorbing material. It was experimentally placed in a classroom so that children could take refuge in the quiet environment. The effectiveness of the space was investigated by an observational survey of the classroom and an interview survey of the teachers.
This report describes the results of site inspection of child daycare facilities and interview with the related persons regarding with acoustic design, which were carried out in Munich city region, Germany, where regulations of acoustic design for daycare facilities exist. The purpose of this attempt is to find the situation of acoustic design in daycare facilities in contrast to those in Japan without any standards or regulations. The result revealed that all the rooms in the inspected facilities were equipped with sound absorptive material and personnel were more or less aware of the benefit of good acoustics.
To investigate the sound absorption property necessary to support activities in a nursery classroom, we conducted experiments by installing sound-absorbing materials in the kindergarten classroom. We changed the sound absorption property of classroom in steps, analyzed the change in the sound environment and its influence on activities. As a result, it is suggested that conserving a sound environment supports multifaceted activities in the nursery classroom, and an average sound absorption coefficient of 0.25 or more is necessary to achieve this.
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