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Not all questions were answered by all respondents, therefore the results given are the percentage of valid responses to the individual questions. Where erroneous answers have been given or free text answers align with one of the multiple choice answers these have been discounted or reassigned in the analyses respectively. All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number which may produce cumulative totals above 100% in some cases.

The results from the pilot study are discussed separately to the main study as the method of recruiting participants was different and the range of schools involved relatively narrow.

The relatively small number of respondents means that statistically robust analyses were not possible on a number of questions.

13.4.1 Profile of respondents

There were 15 respondents, 27% male (n = 4) and 73% female (n = 11), which compared well with the gender balance of the profession as a whole in England where 74% of teachers are female [53].

The average age was 44 years (SD 12.2) with 20% (n = 3) being under 30; all respondents were of working age. Nationally 25% of teachers are under 30. The over 50s are 18% of the national teaching population but formed 53% (n = 8) of the pilot survey respondents. Therefore the age distribution of respondents was different to that of the profession generally.

In terms of the number of years teaching only one respondent had taught for less than a year and the greatest number of respondents (n = 7) had taught for over 25 years.

Eleven respondents taught in secondary schools, three in infant/primary school and one was a special needs teacher (school type unknown).

13.4.2 Classroom information

Respondents were asked about the features of their classrooms. The respondents taught in classrooms constructed in a range of periods from the Victorian-era to the 2000s. The two schools in the pilot study were constructed in the 1890s and 1950s but in common with many schools had been extended during different periods resulting in a range of construction eras in the same school. This was reflected in the questions about classroom finishes which showed a range of materials.

The main classroom layout types were tables in clusters (n = 6) and rows (n = 7).

Respondents were asked about their teaching in open plan areas. The majority (86%) did not teach in open plan rooms. Of those who did (n = 2) these were for 12 and 19 hours per week respectively.

The majority of respondents (80%, n = 12) taught classes of 21 to 30 pupils, with the remainder teaching smaller classes.

13.4.3 Classroom acoustics

Respondents were asked about their experiences of how the acoustics in classrooms affected their voice and their impressions of different noise sources in their classrooms. They were also asked how their main teaching room made their voice sound. Of the valid responses 62% (n = 8) reported that they could hear themselves clearly, and 45% (n = 6) that the room supported their voice. 15% (n = 2) reported that their voice sounded ‘echoey’ or reverberant in the classroom.

60% (n = 9) reported that there were rooms in their current workplace in which it was difficult to make themselves heard, with the three most frequently given reasons being that the room was too reverberant or ‘echoey’ (60%, n = 9), the room being too large (33%, n = 5) and external noise such as traffic (27%, n = 4).

Respondents were asked to rate various different noise sources in their main classrooms in terms of acceptability.

The main sources that were reported as being too high were:

• External noise from the school itself, e.g. playground, too high at times (36%, n = 5).

• External noise from plant and equipment too high at times (15%, n = 2).

• People noise from corridors too high at times (36%, n = 5) and constantly too high (7%, n = 1).

• Pupil noise from other classrooms too high at times (23%, n = 3).

• Equipment noise in own classroom too high at times (15%, n = 2) and constantly too high (8%, n = 1).

• Pupil noise in own classroom too high at times (31%, n = 4).

Other noise sources were generally rated as acceptable or not noticeable by the majority of respondents.

Thus the noise sources being reported at too high levels most frequently were people noise from corridors and pupil noise in the teachers’ own classrooms.

13.4.4 Voice use and problems

Respondents were asked about their experiences of voice loss. 33% (n = 5) had experienced voice problems during their teaching career. These problems included partial voice loss occasionally, partial voice loss frequently, total voice loss occasionally, and changes in voice quality or characteristics.

Of the respondents who reported voice problems two did not seek help despite experiencing significant voice problems, while others had sought help from their GP and others. Voice rest was the most often advised measure which was reported as helping with voice problems in many cases.

None of the respondents had taken time off from work in the previous two years due to voice problems, compared with 60% (n = 9) who had had time off for other health reasons in the same period. 80% (n = 4) of those who had experienced voice problems had remained at work despite problems with their voice.

47% (n = 7) stated that their voice felt tired at the end of the day and 47% (n = 7) frequently had to raise their voice when teaching.

In relation to voice training, 27% (n = 4) of the respondents had received voice training, with two individuals having received informal training or guidance, one having had a one-off session during teacher training and one having attended a short course. 93% (n = 14) of respondents felt that voice training should be included in teacher training courses. 46% (n = 6) felt that voice problems were a significant issue for teachers.

13.4.5 Hearing loss and tinnitus

One respondent had hearing loss, wore two hearing aids and stated that some rooms were more difficult to hear in. This would be expected given the more onerous acoustic conditions needed by those who are hearing impaired. The same respondent experienced tinnitus constantly and stated that this was on occasion made worse by teaching. Four other respondents reported occasional tinnitus.

13.4.6 General health

Participants were asked a number of questions related to general health. These underwent further refinement following the pilot study. 86% (n = 12) of respondents considered themselves to be in good or very good health. 44% (n = 6) reported feeling calm and peaceful only some or little of the time, indicating that stress may have affected some of the respondents.

13.5 Conclusions

The pilot survey indicated that teachers were concerned about voice problems and a significant proportion of the respondents (more than 30%) had experienced these.

Following the pilot study some minor adjustments were made to the main survey including adding a small number of additional questions and some simplification of the

general health questions section. In addition the order of the questions was revised to follow a more logical order.

The pilot survey was followed by a large scale online survey publicised with the help of two UK teaching unions. The survey details and results are summarised in the next chapter.