Abstract
Although teachers’ well-being and vocal health are affected by noise, research on classroom sound environment from the teachers’ perspective is scarce. This study investigated the relationship between teachers’ well-being and classroom acoustics. The possible influence of teachers’ age, experience, teaching grade and class size on the relationship was also investigated. In this study, well-being refers to self-reported vocal health, stress, burnout and self-efficacy. Twenty-three primary-school teachers answered questionnaires on well-being. In each teacher’s classroom, the acoustical properties were measured with the variables reverberation time, clarity of speech (C50) and ventilation system noise (VSN). A series of non-parametric correlations were run to determine the relationship between teachers’ well-being and classroom acoustics. Initially, there was a significant bivariate correlation between burnout and VSN, as well as voice symptoms correlated with VSN and teaching grade. Although the results became not significant after correction for multiple tests, the findings indicate that higher degree of burnout is associated with higher levels of VSN in classrooms, and voice symptoms increase with higher VSN. Teachers working in lower grades had more voice symptoms than those working in higher grades.
Highlights
Recent reports (2018) have shown that primary-school teachers represent the profession reporting the highest percentage of work-related illness in Sweden [1]
With respect to the first research question—is there a relationship between teachers’ well-being and their classroom acoustics?—a low significant correlation showed that higher degree of burnout was related to higher ventilation system noise levels in classrooms
As for the second research question—is such a relationship affected by teachers’ experience in teaching, teaching grade, age or the class size?—the negative correlation between voice symptoms (VHIsum) and teaching grade shows that teachers working in lower grades reported more voice symptoms than those working in higher grades
Summary
Recent reports (2018) have shown that primary-school teachers represent the profession reporting the highest percentage of work-related illness in Sweden [1]. Many studies have indicated that voice problems can be viewed as an occupational risk for teachers [3,4,5,6]. Not surprisingly, teaching was the profession with the highest prevalence of self-assessed voice problems in a cohort of 74,351 individuals in a study by Lyberg-Åhlander et al [4]. Previous studies have indicated a possible relationship between voice problems and decreased general well-being. In the study by Vanhoudt et al [7], teachers with high scores of self-assessed voice handicap showed a higher relative risk of poorer psychosomatic health
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
