ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE IMPACT ON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS OF MEXICO CITY

Abstract

The general objective of the study was to prove the congruency of an explanatory model of the multiple relationships that have been observed in classrooms between the physical variables of noise and teacher-pupil distance with certain psychological and educational attributes of pupils. The design of the study tested the independent physical variables of environmental noise and teacher-pupil physical distance. The psychological (dependent) variables evaluated in 521 pupils were: The three that made up the latent variable Emotional impact, which are; Discomfort, Interruption of communication with the teacher and with classmates. Simultaneously, the Speech intelligibility and the educational variable of reading comprehension were evaluated. To determine the relationship between acoustical, design, and psychological variables, a system of structural equations was applied. The model explained with optimum fit quality (x²= 12.59, p = 0.63,CFI = 1.0, RMSEA = 0.0) the set of relationships of dependency of all the variables evaluated. In conclusion, we can suggest that the model proven with this project fully explains how noise and classroom design negatively affect pupils’ psychological and educational processes.