Does Aircraft Noise Impair Learners' Reading Comprehension, Attention and Working Memory? A Pilot Study

Seabi, Joseph; Goldschagg, Paul; Cockcroft, Kate

doi:10.1080/14330237.2010.10820348

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Last, although the Suffolk Reading Scale used to measure reading comprehension was not standardised for the South African population, this instrument was piloted and the results of which are reported elsewhere. 26,34 In conclusion, on the basis of the present epidemiological field study, there is strong evidence that exposure to aircraft noise impacts negatively on learners' reading comprehension and that the effects are sustained over time after cessation of exposure to an environmental stressor. These findings have implications for education and land-use planning as they caution us that schools located near the airports do not provide healthy learning environments.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 88%

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

Seabi

Cockcroft

Goldschagg

et al. 2013

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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The purpose of this epidemiological study was to investigate the long-term effects of exposure to aircraft noise on reading comprehension on a sample of South African children. Given the impairment of reading comprehension found within the noised-exposed group before the relocation of the airport, it was the intention of this study to determine whether the effects of aircraft noise on reading comprehension remained after the relocation of the airport or whether they disappeared. A cohort of 732 learners with a mean age of 11.1 years participated at baseline measurements in 2009 and 650 (mean age=12.3) and 178 (mean age=13.1) learners were reassessed after the relocation of the airport in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The results revealed no significant effect of the groups on reading comprehension across the testing periods, but significant effects of home language were demonstrated on reading comprehension. These findings suggest that exposure to chronic aircraft noise may have a lasting impact on children's reading comprehension functioning.

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Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 88%

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

Seabi

Cockcroft

Goldschagg

et al. 2013

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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“…[10] Research in South Africa indicates similar trends of environmental noise experienced by learners in the classroom. [11] Children are thus exposed to noise from several sources when they are learning. Although it is acknowledged that internal noise can interfere with the learning process, external noise is envisaged to pose an even great er distraction to learning activities.…”

Section: Sources Of Noise In the Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[17] Intellectual ability [30] This test was conducted on a sample of South African learners and found to be valid and reliable. [11] It was included in order to determine whether the comparison groups were equivalent in terms of intellectual ability.…”

Section: Reading Comprehensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of aircraft noise exposure on South African children′s reading comprehension: The moderating effect of home language

et al. 2012

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Given the limited studies conducted within the African continent, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of chronic aircraft noise exposure and the moderating effect of home language on the learners' reading comprehension. The sample comprised 437 (52%) senior primary learners exposed to high levels of aircraft noise (Experimental group) and 337 (48%) learners residing in a quieter area (Control group). Of these, 151 learners in the Experimental group spoke English as a first language (EFL) and 162 spoke English as a second language (ESL). In the Control group, the numbers were similarly divided (EFL n = 191; ESL n = 156). A univariate General Linear Model was used to investigate the effects of aircraft noise exposure and language on reading comprehension, while observing for the possible impact of intellectual ability, gender, and socioeconomic status on the results. A significant difference was observed between ESL and EFL learners in favor of the latter (F 1,419 = 21.95, P =.000). In addition a substantial and significant interaction effect was found between the experimental and control groups for the two language groups. For the EFL speakers there was a strong reduction in reading comprehension in the aircraft noise group. By contrast this difference was not significant for the ESL speakers. Implications of the findings and suggestions for further research are made in the article.

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“…RANCH-SA is based on the original RANCH project that primarily investigated the effects of aircraft and road traffic noise on children’s cognitive performance. The RANCH-SA project attempted to determine the effects that aircraft noise has on South African primary school children’s reading comprehension, attention, working memory and episodic memory in KwaZulu-Natal [ 16 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Socioeconomic status was also established from the questionnaire and was determined by whether or not a participant (child) was entitled to receive free meals at school. A significant correlation has been shown between free school meal ratio and a range of census indicators representative of socioeconomic status [ 16 ]. Thus, receipt of a free meal was linked to whether a participant’s caregiver was receiving a government social grant.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Does Aircraft Noise Impair Learners' Reading Comprehension, Attention and Working Memory? A Pilot Study

Cited by 13 publications

References 6 publications

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

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

The impact of aircraft noise exposure on South African children′s reading comprehension: The moderating effect of home language

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

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