Silence please! : How school noise affects the well-being of school teachers

Kurzfassung/Abstract

As noise is one of the most significant stress factors in the teaching profession, its impact in real classroom situations was investigated in Study 1. Noise levels (N = 56) were measured, and teachers were surveyed afterward. In Study 2, assumed correlations between school-specific noise sources, noise perception and strain were quantified in a sample of 820 teachers via online survey. The results show significant correlations between measured sound levels during classroom teaching and teachers’ perceived loudness and annoyance. Noise annoyance turned out to be an important predictor for teachers’ perceived strain and varied depending on the school-specific noise, with an important role of verbal student behavior. The results highlight the need for tailored noise prevention measures in schools to reduce noise-related strain among teachers. Furthermore, they indicate that existing regulations for workplace noise may not be always applicable to schools as measured ‘ear-safe’ volumes also cause noise-related strain.