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The importance of protecting teachers’ vocal health

We know that good teaching1 is the single largest influence on improving student learning. We all want to help talented teachers teach even better by providing the evidence that links good acoustics as part of a healthy indoor environment to be a key component in the overall pedagogical repertoire.

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Voice problems are a health threat to teachers. Sadly, in addition it has been consistently shown that teachers develop more voice problems than other occupations. There are a number of studies which highlight the importance of reducing the negative influence of poor acoustics and its negative impact on teachers.

Threats to teacher vocal health:

  • Over 65% of teachers surveyed have experienced voice problems during their career.2
  • Teachers represent 16.4% of those diagnosed with voice disorders while being only 2% of the overall working population.3
  • Voice problems reported in teachers were 15% compared with 6% of the other (non-teacher) group.3
  • 32% of teachers stated that they’ve had voice problems, compared with 1% of non-teachers.4

Based on numerous studies on teacher vocal health, teachers are at least twice as likely to have voice related problems versus other occupations.5

To hear more about vocal health issues with teachers listen to Viveka Lyberg Åhlander of Lund University and Professor at Åbo Akademi here.

The above studies are featured in a downloadable brochure, “Impact of noise in education - A research summary” we created, which highlights a small selection of studies. These studies were featured as part of a report by Professor Bridget Shield who gathered studies from around the world as part of an extensive literature review.

 

 

References:

1 W.Imms University of Melbourne 2019

2 How classroom acoustics affect the vocal load of teachers. Durup 2015

3 Frequency and effects of teachers’ voice problems. Smith et al 1997

4 Frequency of voice problems among teachers and other occupations. Smith et al. 1998.

5 Voice disorders in teachers and the general population: Effects on work performance, attendance, and future career choices. Roy 2004b.