Hearing and Listening Difficulties in High Schools and Universities: The Results of an Exploratory Survey of a Large Number of Students and Teachers in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Umbria Regions, Italy

Although the minimum acoustic requirements for educational facilities have been established by the UNI 11532-2 standard, it is speculated that the majority of high school and university classrooms in Italy do not meet optimal listening conditions. Furthermore, the reasons for students' poor listening quality appear to not be fully understood, neither by students nor by teachers. In addition to the need for greater attention to physical learning spaces (advocating the universal design principles), effective change will also need to involve a greater awareness of what the barriers to listening are and how much they influence both teaching and learning quality and effectiveness.