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- Jesper, Kristiansen, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of classroom acoustics and self-reported noise exposure on teacher’s well-being
- 2013
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Ingår i: Environment and Behavior. - : SAGE Publications. - 1552-390X .- 0013-9165. ; 45:2, s. 283-300
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Beyond noise annoyance and voice problems, little is known about the effects that noise and poor classroom acoustics have on teachers’ health and well-being. The aim of this field study was therefore to investigate the effects of perceived noise exposure and classroom reverberation on measures of well-being. Data on self-reported noise exposure, job satisfaction, fatigue after work, and interest in leaving the job were obtained from 283 teachers at 10 schools in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition, the schools’ acoustical working environment was classified as “low reverberation time (RT)” (3 schools, RT = 0.41-0.47 s), “medium RT” (3 schools, RT = 0.50-0.53 s), or “high RT” (4 schools, RT = 0.59-0.73 s). Significant associations were found between high RT and noise exposure, and, respectively, low job satisfaction, lack of energy after work, and interest in leaving the job. Noise exposure was also associated with lack of motivation and sleepiness. The results demonstrate the importance of good classroom acoustic conditions for teachers’ well-being.
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| 2. |
- Kristiansen, Jesper, et al.
(författare)
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A study of classroom acoustics and school teachers' noise exposure, voice load and speaking time during teaching, and the effects on vocal and mental fatigue development
- 2014
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Ingår i: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-1246 .- 0340-0131. ; 87:8, s. 851-860
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives The study investigated the noise exposure in a group of Danish school teachers. The aims were to investigate if noise posed a risk of impairment of hearing and to study the association between classroom acoustical conditions, noise exposure, vocal symptoms, and cognitive fatigue. Methods Background noise levels, vocal load and speaking time were measured on 35 teachers during actual classroom teaching. The classrooms were characterized acoustically by measurements of reverberation time. Before and after the workday, the teachers answered a questionnaire on fatigue symptoms and carried out two cognitive test tasks sensitive to mental fatigue. Results The average noise level during the lessons was 72 dB(A), but during indoor sports activities the average noise level increased 6.6 dB(A). Room reverberation time (range 0.39-0.83 s) had no significant effect on the noise level. The teachers were talking with a raised voice in 61 % of the time, and the vocal load increased 0.65 dB(A) per dB(A) increase in the average lesson noise level. An increase in voice symptoms during the workday correlated significantly with individual average noise exposure, and a decrease in performance in the two-back test correlated significantly with individual average vocal load. Conclusions Noise exposure in general classrooms posed no risk of noise-induced hearing impairment in school teachers. However, the results provide evidence for an association between noise exposure and vocal load and development of vocal symptoms and cognitive fatigue after work.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Persson, Roger, et al.
(författare)
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Classroom acoustics and hearing ability as determinants for perceived social climate and intentions to stay at work.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Noise & Health. - : Medknow. - 1463-1741. ; 15:67, s. 446-453
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background noise and room acoustics may impede social interactions by interfering with oral communication and other cognitive processes. Accordingly, recent research in school environments has showed that social relationships with peers and teachers are described more negatively in rooms with long reverberation times (RT). The purpose of this study was to investigate how RT and hearing ability (i.e., hearing thresholds [HT] and distortion product oto-acoustic emissions) were associated with schoolteachers' perceptions of the social climate at work and their intentions to stay on the job. Schoolteachers (n = 107) from 10 schools that worked in classrooms classified by acoustical experts as "short RT" (3 schools, mean RT 0.41-0.47 s), "medium RT" (3 schools, mean RT 0.50-0.53 s), and "long RT" (4 schools, mean RT 0.59-0.73 s) were examined. Teachers who worked in classrooms with long RT perceived their social climate to be more competitive, conflict laden, and less relaxed and comfortable. They were more doubtful about staying on the job. Even if the teachers were generally satisfied with their work the results suggest that the comfort at work may have been further improved by acoustical interventions that focus on reducing sound reflections in the classrooms. Yet, due the study design and the novelty of the findings the potential practical significance of our observations remains to be evaluated.
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