Social and academic implications of acoustically hostile classrooms for hard of hearing children

Abstract

The correlation between lowered academic achievement and classroom noise has been demonstrated for normally hearing children (Shield and Dockrell, 2003). However, the implications of poor classroom acoustics on the socialization and academic performance of children who are hard of hearing have not been examined. Eleven hard of hearing students in one school district, ranging from kindergarten to grade 7, were the foci of the present study. Acoustic measurements of each of the 11 classrooms in both unoccupied and occupied conditions revealed that all classrooms were acoustically challenging for the hard of hearing students, particularly at transition times, when ventilation was operational, and in the primary grades, when language learning needs are greatest. Interviews with parents and teachers underscored the difficulty these students experienced in comprehending teacher instructions and participating in group work. The students seldom initiated conversation or seatwork independently, but, rather, followed the lead of their peers. The hard of hearing students experienced frequent difficulties in understanding or participating in informal peer-to-peer conversations in the classroom, and parents and teachers attributed the children’s frequent social isolation and withdrawal at school to the combined effects of poor hearing abilities and hostile classroom acoustics. [Work supported by Hampton Research Fund.]