A sound environment for schools: 60 years of research into the impact

Problems caused by noise and poor acoustics in schools and other educational establishments have been recognised for over 100 years. Many countries now have guidelines or regulations governing the acoustic design of school buildings, reflecting the need for acoustic environments which are suitable for teaching and learning. The development of such guidelines follows many years of research into the detrimental impact of excessive noise and reverberation on pupils and teachers. Since the 1960s research around the world has shown that noise in schools affects children's academic performance and achievements, causes annoyance and disturbance to pupils and teachers and, together with reverberation, reduces speech intelligibility in the classroom. This paper reviews much of this research, focusing on the acoustic design of enclosed classrooms and its impact on pupils of all ages.