Effects of classroom acoustics on the perception of well-being and noise in first grade children

Acustica nelle aule scolastiche This research is part of the second year of the project "Io-Ascolto" supported by the non-profit Fondazione CRT and developed by the University of Turin (Departments of Neuroscience, Science, National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) and the Polytechnic of Turin (Energy Department), in collaboration with the Educational Direction Roberto D'Azeglio. The project aims to improve learning skills by combating specific disorders (DSA) such as dyslexia. The latter, according to MIUR estimates, involves 3 Italian students out of 100, 2.9% of enrolled and 4 times more than 6 years ago. Piedmont is also one of the regions with the highest percentage in which 4.5% of children affected by these disorders have been diagnosed. The educational program that the project proposes, along with the traditional one, is aimed at children aged between 5 and 7 years. In this age range, in fact, neuronal plasticity is such as to make the possibility of a remedy still admissible, even though, paradoxically, the diagnosis of dyslexia is made after the age of 8. As several studies have shown, bad acoustics not only affects learning abilities, it also has an important influence on mental health. (Al-Lamki, 2012) This research aims to examine, through the administration of questionnaires on well-being and noise developed through scientific literature and experience gained during the years of studies on school acoustics, the perception that children have of themselves and the environment around them. A first analysis on case studies in European Schools, on the type of treatment used for classrooms and specifically on the choice of the best material used, was followed by a phase of operational experimentation in which the acoustic data of the 12 classes participating in the project were collected, through in-field measurements and the administration of questionnaires. All data were then catalogued and individually analyzed to initially verify the suitability of the classroom for its function of word transmission, an analysis that led to the subdivision of the classes into two groups. Following this subdivision it was possible to study the answers to the questionnaires first of all on all the children and then to compare the different answers obtained by the groups of children who attend a class with good acoustic characteristics and one in which the carrying out of the activities is hindered by the presence of different noises. In this way it has been possible to assess the impact of good acoustics on the perception of oneself and one's surroundings. A further verification included the crossing of the acoustic data with the answers of the questionnaires to understand if there were relationships that, if correct, can improve the quality of the individual's learning.