Classroom acoustics as a consideration for inclusive education in South Africa

South African Journal of Communication Disorders

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Classroom acoustics as a consideration for inclusive education in South Africa
 
Creator van Reenen, Coralie Karusseit, Catherine
 
Subject Architecture; Education; Inclusive design noise; classroom acoustics; inclusive education; norms; standards and regulations; children with disabilities; South Africa
Description Background: It can hardly be disputed that a school environment should be conducive or, at the very least, not prohibitive to effective learning. The provision of fair, equal and barrier-free access to education is referred to as inclusive education. South Africa supports a policy of inclusive schooling, striving to accommodate all children, including those with disabilities, in mainstream schools. This article sets out to prove that noise control in classrooms is a relevant, yet neglected, aspect of inclusive classroom design in South Africa and requires specific attention.Objectives: The objectives of this study are to: (1) establish the impact that noise has on learners with sensory, language or learning impairments; (2) establish the preferred listening conditions for these learners by examining prior research and guidelines available in other countries; and (3) outline the current South African regulations pertaining to classroom acoustics and assess them against the preferred listening environment.Method: This research was conducted as a systematic review with reference to the South African context. Local and international research and guidelines were used as references, providing an overview and evaluation of data concerning noise and learning.Results: Noise is disadvantageous for learners, particularly those with sensory, language or learning impairments. Research and international guidelines show that the ideal ambient level is 30 dBA – 35 dBA, allowing the achievement of an ideal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of +15 dB, and the ideal reverberation time is 0.4 s – 0.6 s. Various South African regulations discussed are inconsistent regarding ambient noise level (ranging from 35 dBA – 50 dBA) and say little about reverberation time for classrooms.Conclusion: South African regulations regarding classroom acoustics require revision to ensure inclusion of all learners with disabilities. The current status does not enforce barrier-free environments in mainstream schools for children with sensory, language or learning impairments.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Date 2017-09-08
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Literature review
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajcd.v64i1.550
 
Source South African Journal of Communication Disorders; Vol 64, No 1 (2017); 10 pages 2225-4765 0379-8046
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/550/745 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/550/744 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/550/746 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/550/743
 
Coverage South Africa Current NA
Rights Copyright (c) 2017 Coralie van Reenen, Catherine Karusseit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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