Questionnaire survey on the current state and issues of the classroom environment

Abstract

The Japanese government is funding public school facilities to apply green renovation for reducing environmental load and improving indoor environmental quality. Questionnaire survey on current classroom environment was conducted for 2,138 teachers in elementary and junior high schools across Japan. Thermal environment of classrooms was voted to be hot in summer and cold in winter, with higher discomfort votes in summer. In classrooms without heating, 90% voted the room to be cold in winter even in southern areas of Japan such as Kyushu. Direct sunlight in classrooms was voted to be glary by 48% of the teachers while 70% switched on artificial lighting at all time during the class. Teachers in open-type classrooms were more sensitive to noise from neighboring classrooms than teachers in closed-type classrooms. Indoor air quality was not rated to be a problem, although ventilation systems are rarely installed in classrooms. Green renovation schemes need to take into account the potential needs to improve indoor environmental quality as well as reduction of environmental loads.