Indicators and methods for assessing acoustical preferences and needs of students in educational buildings: A review

Sounds (e.g., human activity, nature, building systems) are one of the indoor environmental stimuli that may have positive and/or negative effects on students’ well-being and performance in educational buildings. Students in educational buildings have individual acoustical preferences and needs as portrayed by occupant-related indicators, for example perception. Acoustical guidelines for educational buildings are generally focused on acoustical performance in terms of dose-related (e.g., sound pressure level) and building-related indicators (e.g., sound absorbing walls), while occupant-related indicators (e.g., heart rate) are rarely mentioned. In contrast, previous studies such as indoor soundscape studies, do take into consideration occupant-related indicators, including physiological and psychological. Therefore, this study aimed at summarizing these indicators in a comprehensive overview that is essential for investigating the students’ acoustical preferences and needs in educational buildings. A literature review of relevant studies in the domain of indoor acoustics and soundscape was carried out. A number of key indicators (occupant-related, dose-related, building-related) and methods that are fundamental to be considered were identified. Only in a few studies, students’ acoustical preferences and needs were investigated by considering occupant-related indicators (both physiological and psychological). In addition, dose-related indicators of other indoor environmental quality (IEQ) factors and building-related indicators were rarely taken into account in previous studies.