SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1586997
The Effects of Classroom Acoustic Quality on Student Perception and Well-being: A Systematic Review across Educational Levels
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Florence, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
- 2IUL Online University, Florence, Italy
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The acoustic quality of the school environment is crucial in enhancing learning and contributing to classroom well-being. The aim of this systematic review was twofold: (1) to investigate students’ perspectives on listening in different learning contexts, with a focus on noise and reverberation in the classroom; and (2) to investigate the impact of indoor acoustic quality and reverberation on well-being. Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) procedures to identify peer-reviewed studies, 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. Methodological quality was assessed using an existing framework. The results highlight an age-related progression in acoustic awareness from preschool children with limited differentiation to older students with refined perceptions. The impact of acoustics on well-being extends beyond learning to social relationships, motivation, and engagement, with older students exhibiting greater sensitivity than younger students. A research gap exists in preschool settings owing to methodological challenges in assessing young children’s experiences. This review highlights the need for improved acoustic standards, tailored interventions, and awareness programmes to improve learning environments and well-being.
Keywords: Acoustic quality, School environment, Well-being, reverberation, students' perception
Received: 03 Mar 2025; Accepted: 24 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mercugliano, Corbani, Bigozzi, Vettori and Incognito. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Oriana Incognito, IUL Online University, Florence, Italy
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