Hypothesis
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is one of the essential determinants of academic performance among students, as students tend to operate much more efficiently while in well-maintained environments. Poor IAQ may create a situation where students are much more likely to experience an increase in cases of absenteeism resulting from exposure to a wide array of health conditions, thus, negatively impacting academic performance.
Introduction
Majority of the students spend a considerable amount of time in school environments, which has raised the need for having to examine how the indoor air quality (IAQ) in such situations may impact on their performance from an academic perspective. Governments have been on the forefront towards recognizing the impacts that the IAQ tend to have on students while in school environments. That has created the need for governments to commit more funding and resources with the critical element of focus being towards improving the quality of the situation for the students. Thus, this has resulted in the tripling of real expenditures per student, as governments seek to improve the area of air quality.
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Some of the essential associations including the American Lung Association take note of the fact that students tend to spend approximately 90% of their time indoors while in schools. Thus, this means that the quality of air within the school buildings may act as a critical determinant of how students respond to their surrounding environments, as well as, how they can define their academic performance. Majority of the schools are investing significant amounts of monies for purposes of purchasing equipment such as air conditioning machines and heaters with the focus being towards making the air quality conducive for the students. Such efforts are replicated in the performance levels for students, who tend to have quality environments allowing them to study effectively.
The number of studies that have focused on evaluating the link between air quality and academic performance is somewhat limited due to the challenges that researchers experience in trying to examine the correlation between these two aspects. One major problem revolves around the lack of a clear-cut test that would seek to highlight the fact that indeed air quality tends to have an impact on academic performance. From that perspective, it has become essential for this research to focus more on trying to examine how IAQ may affect students concentrate on their abilities to study efficiently. Additionally, this research seeks to explore some of the key ways through which schools would be able to improve on the air quality for their students as part of improving their performance.
Air pollution, Health, and Academic Performance
The apparent connection between air pollution, health, and academic performance is evident from the fact that the exposure of students to air pollution is much more likely to result in constant cases of absenteeism. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the concentration of pollutants is between 2 and five times greater indoor, which acts as a clear reflection of the fact that indeed the air quality may be affected significantly. In the school environment, this means that students are much more likely to encounter pollutants while in the school buildings when compared to being outside. That suggests the need for having to come up with a direct approach focused on trying to determine the overall impacts that the IAQ may have on the students.
Ambient Air Quality in Schools
An ambient environment refers to a situation in which the quality of air is favorable for the persons within such environments. In schools, the idea of having to create an ambient environment focuses more on shifting focus towards understanding how students react while in situations that tend to have the best quality of air. Becker, Goldberger, & Paciuk (2007) take note of the fact that the IAQ tends to have a significant impact on the level of concentration among students, as students are much more likely to concentrate while in environments that are considered as being conducive. That acts as a clear reflection of the fact that indeed having an ambient air quality within school environments serves as one of the favorable approaches towards improving productivity among students.
Alternatively, creating ambiance in the air quality within schools is also considered as being an essential part in promoting academic performance, as it reduces the possibility of students having to stay at home. Absenteeism is noted as one of the critical factors that contribute to increased cases of reduction in academic performance considering that students find themselves in a situation where they tend to lack behind in their studies. However, improving the air school for indoor school buildings where students spend much of their time limits the possibility of exposure to pollutants that are likely to contribute to absenteeism. Lee, Mui, Wong, Chan, Lee, & Cheung (2015) argue that schools ought to capitalize on the fact that the IAQ determines student attendance in a bid to creating safe environments that their students would appreciate. The outcome of this is that it will create a high possibility of lifting the overall quality of student engagement in the learning process.
Indoor Air Pollution
On the other hand, it is essential to take note of the impacts that poor IAQ or indoor air pollution may have on students concerning their academic performance levels. Stafford (2015) argues that one of the most significant issues to consider is that poor IAQ acts as one of the leading factors that contribute to a high number of missed school days annually. An example can be seen from a study commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency, which took note of the fact that asthma-related illnesses contribute to approximately 14 million missed school days annually (Stafford, 2015). That is a significant amount taking into consideration that this is a period that students would have spent in learning environments trying to improve on their academic performance rather than having to stay at home.
The issue also stretches to the fact that students find themselves exposed to notable and constant discomfort while in schools that have poor IAQ, which affects their abilities to concentrate while in the school environment. Turunen, Toyinbo, Putus, Nevalainen, Shaughnessy, & Haverinen-Shaughnessy (2014) point out that students tend to create an environment that they are willing to appreciate depending on the IAQ, thus, meaning that poor IAQ would result in poor abilities to deliver on set out expectations and objectives. In most cases, this does not only affect the students but also affects the teachers, who experience a significant reduction in academic performance as a result of poor IAQ. The ultimate result of this is that students are much more likely to suffer a considerable decrease in their capacities to maintain positive performance in their academics.
Improving Indoor Air Quality
The issue of poor IAQ ought to be considered as one of the critical topics of discussion when evaluating how schools would be able to improve on their academic performance levels. The crucial first approach that schools ought to take in their bid to improving air quality is using heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to replace indoor air with the outdoor air at an interval of between 1 and 2 hours (Sarbu & Pacurar, 2015). The replacement of air would help towards reducing exposure to pollutants considering that the volume of contaminants would be expected to decrease significantly. Additionally, this will also mean that the temperature levels within the indoor environments will be maintained at specific levels, thus, enhancing productivity and efficiency among the students while in their indoor environments.
However, it is essential to consider possibilities where some of these schools are close to roads, airports, or busy centers, which would mean that the quality of outdoor air is not as effective as may be expected. In that view, schools ought to focus on adoption of technologies, including enVerid Systems, Inc.’s HVAC Load Reduction® (HLR®), which seek to recycle the same air from the indoor environment. In such technologies, the focus is on capturing and working towards removing all contaminants from the indoor air including carbon dioxide (CO2) and aldehydes among others (Haverinen-Shaughnessy, Shaughnessy, Cole, Toyinbo, & Moschandreas, 2015). The recycled air is then pumped into the indoor environment as clean air while helping to create comfort for the students as part of their engagement in the learning process. The use of such technologies is seen as a critical approach through which to work on not only improving the quality of air but also improving the connection that the students have towards their school environments.
From the research conducted, it is clear that the hypothesis has been supported with the view that indeed indoor air quality acts as one of the critical determinants of students' performance abilities. The research provides readers with a clear overview of how IAQ may be considered as being favorable and unfavorable for students while reflecting on how this may impact their abilities to study and concentrate. Additionally, the research also provides readers with a clear connection between IAQ and academic performance with the view that this would create the need for having to improve on the IAQ. Lastly, the research also provides readers with some of the critical approaches that schools may take up as part of their attitudes towards improving the quality of air for their students as a way of improving their performance.
References
Becker, R., Goldberger, I., & Paciuk, M. (2007). Improving energy performance of school buildings while ensuring indoor air quality ventilation. Building and Environment , 42 (9), 3261-3276.
Haverinen-Shaughnessy, U., Shaughnessy, R. J., Cole, E. C., Toyinbo, O., & Moschandreas, D. J. (2015). An assessment of indoor environmental quality in schools and its association with health and performance. Building and Environment , 93 , 35-40.
Lee, M. C., Mui, K. W., Wong, L. T., Chan, W. Y., Lee, E. W. M., & Cheung, C. T. (2012). Student learning performance and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in air-conditioned university teaching rooms. Building and Environment , 49 , 238-244.
Sarbu, I., & Pacurar, C. (2015). Experimental and numerical research to assess indoor environment quality and schoolwork performance in university classrooms. Building and Environment , 93 , 141-154.
Stafford, T. M. (2015). Indoor air quality and academic performance. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management , 70 , 34-50.
Turunen, M., Toyinbo, O., Putus, T., Nevalainen, A., Shaughnessy, R., & Haverinen-Shaughnessy, U. (2014). Indoor environmental quality in school buildings, and the health and wellbeing of students. International journal of hygiene and environmental health , 217 (7), 733-739.
