Ever heard that employee performance gets better with air conditioned workplace? You've heard this because a lot of research has been done regarding this subject. While employees and their performances has long been a matter of research interest, little has been done regarding children performance in school and how air conditioned classrooms can impact the course of learning. It is only recently that researches in kids learning patterns have been linked with the level of cooling comfort provided.
Research outcomes on correlation between hot temperature and classroom performance
A recent study conducted by Western Sydney University reveals that there is a correlation between less or difficult learning and hot classrooms. And this raises a serious concern. Around the world, only a handful of schools offer air conditioned classrooms. This suggests that a major compromise on kids learning is being made by not providing them with ample cooling comfort.The only study conducted in Australia on kids leaning and air conditioning also brought to light the fact that children prefer relatively lower temperature than adults which imply that they are more responsive to thermal discomfort. Australian kids preferred a temperature of 22.5 degree celsius which is less than what adults find comfortable. Since a teacher controls the indoor temperature in classrooms, it will not be surprising to know that most kids would be compromising with what the teacher finds comfortable while they feel discomforted with it.
"High School Students did not perform well during a relatively hot year", Research says
Another study by Harvard Kennedy School Associate Professor Joshua Goodman says that students performed relatively lower on a hot year than on a year with normal temperatures. Millions of American high school students were examined as part of the study and the revelation was as mentioned above; there was a significant difference in performance as the temperature changed. For every one degree increase in temperature, achievement of a pupil fell by around one percent.What to do?
Suggestions;
Improvement in cooling facilities at school
The Harvard study as well as the Western Sydney University study concluded that there is a need to improve cooling facilities at schools be they by employing Air Conditioning or by the use of air coolers. The Harvard School study estimates that providing Air Conditioning to classrooms would cost roughly $25,000 per classroom annually. But also says that the investment will be worth the benefit that will be reaped by offering a comfortable classroom environment to kids thereby improving their learning.Providing kids with sufficient cooling at home
As a mother or father, you are certainly not in a position to bring changes to your kid's school infrastructure. However, what you can do is to ensure that your kid is in a sufficiently cool room at home as he is engaged in a learning activity, busy doing his homework or playing some mind games. Ensuring a comfortable temperature at home may not fully compensate for a hot classrooms but can certainly do enough good to your child's learning abilities. Keep kids cool when they are home by;- Keeping a 22.5 degree temperature in the indoor or whatever your kids find comfortable
- Providing them enough liquids to maintain a stable bodily temperature
- Limit outdoor activity. Let them play games or do learning activities within the indoor.