Architects' and acoustic consultants' low-cost considerations for improving classroom acoustics in the South African context

Abstract

Literature reports on the negative effects poor classroom acoustics could have on learners' academic performance. South Africa is a mixture of a developing and developed country, therefore there is a need to be cost-conscious due to the possible limited resources available. There is limited research on how to address the above issue of poor acoustics. Thus, a low-cost method to acoustically treat an existing classroom needed to be explored. Architects and acoustic consultants were used as the participants as they are professionals who may be involved in classroom acoustic treatments. The aim of the study was to obtain architects' and acoustic consultants' low-cost considerations to acoustically treat an existing classroom. This aim was achieved through a mixed-method sequential explanatory approach. A qualitative approach involved the participants having to draw out their considerations to acoustically treat an example classroom, while simultaneously participating in a semistructured interview. The qualitative data were placed into the Sabine reverberation equation for a quantitative approach to calculate the post-acoustic treatment reverberation time. The study found that there are methods to acoustically treat classrooms in a low-cost yet effective way. Prioritising the treatment of reverberation and treating the entire ceiling with Class C acoustic ceiling tiles with a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) of 0.70 seemed to be the most ideal solution. The study concluded that by using the Sabine reverberation equation, one could implement the bare minimum treatment needed in order to achieve an appropriate reverberation time. This is important for South Africa, where resources may be limited. Through this study, a basic acoustic treatment guideline was developed, however, there is a need for change in policy at a government level to ensure that all classrooms are conducive to learning and teaching.