The Influence of Indoor Environmental Quality in Schools A Systematic Literature Review , Michael Donn and Geoff Thomas

The impact of IEQ (daylight, thermal comfort, acoustics and ventilation) in school settings is a subject of concern for many scholars and parents and teachers. This review has appraised the breadth of studies that have examined the influence of IEQ on learning performance and health in schools. Using the replicable search processes of a systematic literature, adopted from medical research practice, one hundred and fifty relevant articles were retrieved from four search databases (Science direct, Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar). Analysis of these articles has revealed that the impact on students’ health and comfort of each individual IEQ variable is significant. This, in some studies, has been shown to influence learning performance. However, while these variables are inter-linked in building design they are not studied together in health and learning performance studies. An evidence-based method is proposed for investigating what relative contributory effect these four variables have on learning performance. As these IEQ variables individually have a very significant effect on student performance, this study has the potential to guide important changes in the design and refurbishment of new and existing school buildings. If successful, it could support educational quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning. Keywords: Daylighting, Thermal comfort, Acoustics, Ventilation