Introduction

Why Care for Air Quality in Classrooms?:

Is the air that students breathe in classrooms good?  Good enough to ensure that students can focus and thrive in the classroom – or is it bad, perhaps overused, or containing particles that may be even detrimental to their ability to concentrate?  The relationship between air quality and an individual’s ability to focus and their school performance is well documented – so how about air quality in our classrooms?
Broad and very public attention to air quality in classrooms rose in the past 12 months – in the context of the risk of contracting COVID19.  When in the classroom, teachers and students began investing in frequently opening windows, making sure that fresh air was let in, with the aim to reduce the risk of infection.  Many studies had shown that, with one or more infected people in the room, their aerosols were “transported” in the air, carrying the virus and allowing it to circulate throughout the room  and the more frequently fresh air was let in, the lower the prevalence of such aerosols became, reducing the risk of infections.

Further attention to the quality of air that students breathe during class came with the requirements to wear (FFP2) masks in the classroom.  Many users worried that the masks – while useful in preventing infection of the bearer and reducing the risk of someone infecting others – might compromise the quality of air breathed in by the person wearing the mask, leading to lower levels of oxygen in the blood, and, as a consequence, to a reduced ability to focus.  In fact, various studies have confirmed that wearing masks over a prolonged period of time does reduce oxygen levels in the blood even if not clinically relevant.
With many students now required to wear FFP2 masks constantly, paying attention to the quality of the air that surrounds them becomes even more important.

This website offers information to respond to the question whether air quality is good enough for students to focus well at Vienna International School.  And it offers remedial action opportunities for situations in which air quality may not be good enough.

We looked at three determinants of air quality and compared prevalence throughout time spent in a classroom – respectively in a situation in which the classroom was ventilated frequently, and when it was not ventilated frequently. 

Check out our results, find out whether opening windows (“ventilating”) matters, and what you can do about improving air quality.