Health, comfort and performance of children in classrooms – New directions for research

Abstract

Children spend more time in schools than in any other place except at home. Children are more susceptible than adults to effects of toxic exposure, but also to poor acoustic conditions. It is known for some time that unsatisfactory environmental conditions, can have both short-term and long-term health effects, and can affect productivity or learning ability of the children. The underlying literature study focusses on the role of the indoor school environment on the health, comfort and performance of children in classrooms. In the last decades, many studies all over the world have been performed to document the indoor environment in classrooms and to examine relations with diseases and disorders. An inventory is made of these studies, major identified issues are discussed and ‘new’ directions of research are proposed. It is concluded that new generation research studies should be focussed on engagement of the children in an active way, preferable in semi-lab environments, and taking account of all aspects and interactions between them.