A Scoping Review of the Effects of Classroom Acoustic Conditions on Primary School Children’s Physical Health

2023

Acoust Aust

Classrooms are important learning spaces, however, the acoustic conditions in these spaces can often be suboptimal. The aim of this scoping review, which used the PRISMA-ScR protocol, was to understand what is known from the literature about the effect of classroom acoustic treatment on students’ listening, learning, and well-being. Thirteen papers from the database searches were deemed relevant for the review. Information on the years of publication of the papers, the population studied, the types of acoustic treatment used, the measures and methods used to assess the effect of acoustic treatment, and the outcomes of the papers was gathered. Seven of the 13 studies reported positive effects of classroom acoustic treatment on student’s speech perception, attention, and well-being. Five studies reported both positive effects and no effect depending on the measure, condition, or population. The remaining study reported a negative effect of classroom acoustic treatment on children’s speech perception and listening effort. These findings suggest that the effect of ceiling and/or wall absorbers/diffusers on sound and reverberation in the room can help students’ speech perception, attention, reading, and well-being, but they may also reduce the speech transmission index resulting in increased listening effort. The limitations of the reviewed studies and avenues for future research on the effect of acoustic treatment on a broader range of listening, learning, and well-being outcomes for students are discussed.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Classroom Acoustic Treatment on Listening, Learning, and Well-being: A Scoping Review

2023

Acoust Aust

“…These effects can be either from acute exposure, or chronic exposure over a long period of time. Poor classroom acoustic conditions can negatively affect children's speech perception, 3,4,12,15 comprehension (see Lamotte et al 16 and Schiller 17 for reviews), literacy outcomes (see Mealings 18 for a review), cognition (see Mealings 19 for a review), and physical health (see Mealings 20 for a review). These negative effects on the learning processes can affect children's academic achievement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A scoping review of the effects of classroom acoustic conditions on primary school children’s mental wellbeing

2022

Building Acoustics

The aim of this scoping review was to systematically map research on the effect of classroom acoustic conditions on children’s mental wellbeing and identify existing gaps in knowledge to inform future research. This scoping review followed the PRISMA-ScR protocol. A comprehensive search of four online databases (ERIC, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) was conducted using the search term classroom AND (acoustic* OR noise OR reverb*) AND (“mental health” OR emotion OR wellbeing OR “quality of life” OR anxiety OR depression). Peer-reviewed papers were included if they were written in English, included children in the primary school age range (i.e. 5–12 years), and included a measure of children’s mental wellbeing. Six papers met the criteria to be included in the review. Overall, this review suggests that poor classroom acoustic conditions can negatively affect children’s mental wellbeing. Given the small number of studies, future research suggestions are proposed to fill current gaps in knowledge.

“…1 Reviews have shown that poor classroom acoustic conditions can affect children's speech perception, comprehension, literacy, numeracy, cognition, learning and even physical health and mental well-being. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] But what effect do different classroom acoustic conditions have on different children's behaviour?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classroom acoustic conditions and primary school children’s behaviour: A scoping review

2022

Building Acoustics

The aim of this scoping review was to determine what is known from the literature about the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on different primary school children’s behaviour. A scoping review using the PRISMA-ScR protocol was conducted in March 2022. ERIC, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched using the search term classroom AND (acoustic* OR noise OR reverb*) AND (behav* OR motivat* OR attitude OR persist* OR flexib* OR engage* OR interpersonal). In all, 14 articles were relevant. The populations studied included children who were typically developing, had autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or were deaf or hard of hearing. Several behaviours including learning, externalising and internalising behaviours were investigated. The results suggested that poor classroom acoustic conditions can negatively impact children’s behaviour. However, due to heterogeneity of the methodologies used in this small number of studies, future research is proposed to better understand the relationship.