A prospective follow-up study of the effects of chronic aircraft noise exposure on learners’ reading comprehension in South Africa

Seabi, Joseph; Cockcroft, Kate; Goldschagg, Paul; Greyling, Michael

doi:10.1038/jes.2013.71

Cited by 17 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…A further three studies from the NORAH study, known to the authors were added: one that had not been identified by the systematic searches [51], as well as three conference papers [91][92][93]. Two other studies known to the authors were also added [94,95], along with another recent conference paper [93]. Six studies were excluded after data extraction (Appendix A.2) which included two studies which reported experimental studies [84,85]; one that reported on mental health and not cognition and had already been identified in the search for mental health [39]; one which did not report on noise exposure per se [89], and another study which reported an ADHD outcome, which was moved to the mental health review [48].…”

Section: Grade Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for Environmental Noise Effects on Health for the United Kingdom Policy Context: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Environmental Noise on Mental Health, Wellbeing, Quality of Life, Cancer, Dementia, Birth, Reproductive Outcomes, and Cognition

Clark

Crumpler

Notley³

2020

IJERPH

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This systematic review commissioned by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), considers how the evidence base for noise effects on health has changed following the recent reviews undertaken for the WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines. This systematic review assesses the quality of the evidence for environmental noise effects on mental health, wellbeing, and quality of life; birth and reproductive outcomes; and cognition for papers published since the WHO reviews (mid-2015 to March 2019), as well as for cancer and dementia (January 2014 to March 2019). Using the GRADE methodology (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) most evidence was rated as low quality as opposed to very low quality in the previous reviews. There is now low-quality evidence for a harmful effect of road traffic noise on medication use and interview measures of depression and anxiety and low quality evidence for a harmful effect of road traffic noise, aircraft noise, and railway noise on some cancer outcomes. Many other conclusions from the WHO evidence reviews remain unchanged. The conclusions remain limited by the low number of studies for many outcomes. The quantification of health effects for other noise sources including wind turbine, neighbour, industrial, and combined noise remains a research priority.

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Section: Grade Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for Environmental Noise Effects on Health for the United Kingdom Policy Context: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Environmental Noise on Mental Health, Wellbeing, Quality of Life, Cancer, Dementia, Birth, Reproductive Outcomes, and Cognition

Clark

Crumpler

Notley³

2020

IJERPH

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“…Raw of the SRS2 were used as it was not standardized for the South African population. Further details about applicability of the SRS2 to the South African context is provided in another study [ 1 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seabi and his colleagues [ 1 ] considered the dearth of research on the detrimental effects of extreme noise levels on children’s cognitive processing and scholastic performance in South Africa. They conducted a longitudinal study of aircraft noise and its effects on primary school teaching and learning in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, based on the premise of the European Road Traffic and Aircraft Noise Exposure and Children’s Cognition and Health (RANCH) project.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Demographic information obtained in the aforementioned study [ 1 ] included gender, socioeconomic status and home language. Further exploration into these variables and whether they have an effect on reading comprehension would provide valuable insight into teacher’s instruction, potential interventions as well as general knowledge of the effects of noise on learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Home Language on Primary School Children’s Reading Comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal

Völkel

Seabi

Cockcroft

et al. 2016

IJERPH

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The current study constituted part of a larger, longitudinal, South African-based study, namely, The Road and Aircraft Noise Exposure on Children’s Cognition and Health (RANCH—South Africa). In the context of a multicultural South Africa and varying demographic variables thereof, this study sought to investigate and describe the effects of gender, socioeconomic status and home language on primary school children’s reading comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal. In total, 834 learners across 5 public schools in the KwaZulu-Natal province participated in the study. A biographical questionnaire was used to obtain biographical data relevant to this study, and the Suffolk Reading Scale 2 (SRS2) was used to obtain reading comprehension scores. The findings revealed that there was no statistical difference between males and females on reading comprehension scores. In terms of socioeconomic status (SES), learners from a low socioeconomic background performed significantly better than those from a high socioeconomic background. English as a First Language (EL1) speakers had a higher mean reading comprehension score than speakers who spoke English as an Additional Language (EAL). Reading comprehension is indeed affected by a variety of variables, most notably that of language proficiency. The tool to measure reading comprehension needs to be standardized and administered in more than one language, which will ensure increased reliability and validity of reading comprehension scores.

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“…Noise can be characterised by its loudness, frequency, fluctuation and meaning. Invasive outdoor noise, such as aircraft noise, has been shown to negatively affect learner performance (Haines, Stansfeld, Head & Job, 2002 ; Hygge, Evans & Bullinger, 2002 ; Seabi, Cockcroft, Goldschagg & Greyling, 2012 , 2015 ). Studies comparing the performance of children in schools near and distant from airports, and of children in schools near airports before and after decommissioning of the airport bear evidence of this.…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classroom acoustics as a consideration for inclusive education in South Africa

Reenen¹,

Karusseit

2017

SAJCD

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BackgroundIt can hardly be disputed that a school environment should be conducive or, at the very least, not prohibitive to effective learning. The provision of fair, equal and barrier-free access to education is referred to as inclusive education. South Africa supports a policy of inclusive schooling, striving to accommodate all children, including those with disabilities, in mainstream schools. This article sets out to prove that noise control in classrooms is a relevant, yet neglected, aspect of inclusive classroom design in South Africa and requires specific attention.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study are to: (1) establish the impact that noise has on learners with sensory, language or learning impairments; (2) establish the preferred listening conditions for these learners by examining prior research and guidelines available in other countries; and (3) outline the current South African regulations pertaining to classroom acoustics and assess them against the preferred listening environment.MethodThis research was conducted as a systematic review with reference to the South African context. Local and international research and guidelines were used as references, providing an overview and evaluation of data concerning noise and learning.ResultsNoise is disadvantageous for learners, particularly those with sensory, language or learning impairments. Research and international guidelines show that the ideal ambient level is 30 dBA – 35 dBA, allowing the achievement of an ideal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of +15 dB, and the ideal reverberation time is 0.4 s – 0.6 s. Various South African regulations discussed are inconsistent regarding ambient noise level (ranging from 35 dBA – 50 dBA) and say little about reverberation time for classrooms.ConclusionSouth African regulations regarding classroom acoustics require revision to ensure inclusion of all learners with disabilities. The current status does not enforce barrier-free environments in mainstream schools for children with sensory, language or learning impairments.

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A prospective follow-up study of the effects of chronic aircraft noise exposure on learners’ reading comprehension in South Africa

Cited by 17 publications

References 20 publications

Evidence for Environmental Noise Effects on Health for the United Kingdom Policy Context: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Environmental Noise on Mental Health, Wellbeing, Quality of Life, Cancer, Dementia, Birth, Reproductive Outcomes, and Cognition

Evidence for Environmental Noise Effects on Health for the United Kingdom Policy Context: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Environmental Noise on Mental Health, Wellbeing, Quality of Life, Cancer, Dementia, Birth, Reproductive Outcomes, and Cognition

The Impact of Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Home Language on Primary School Children’s Reading Comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal

Classroom acoustics as a consideration for inclusive education in South Africa

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