A methodology to assess school buildings' indoor environmental quality and physical condition in relation to teachers' well-being

The association between buildings∗ indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and occupants' well-being has become an important area of research in recent years. For school buildings in particular, this research has focused on evaluating occupants' perceived satisfaction with IEQ, ignoring other aspects of physical, social and psychological well-being and ignoring the unique characteristics of teachers' well-being in particular. In its evaluation of school buildings' physical conditions, IEQ research usually focused on evaluating the mere presence or absence of building components such as windows and not their physical conditions. This paper presents a comprehensive research methodology aiming to address these limitations as part of a current research study conducted by the Construction Engineering and Management Group at the University of Manitoba in partnership with the Government of Manitoba Public School Finance Board. The research aims to assess Manitoba school buildings' IEQ and physical condition in relation to teachers' well-being. The methodology includes physical measurements of classrooms' IEQ. field observations of the physical condition of these classrooms and assessment of teachers' well-being. The well-being measures were developed through an inductive approach that involved interviewing a sample of school teachers to identify the unique indicators of their psychological, social, and physical well-being. Once complete, this research should contribute to developing a body of knowledge that school divisions, designers and contractors can use to deliver new school buildings that maximize schools" IEQ and teachers' well-being. It should also deliver abridged methods that school divisions, school administrators and operators can use to evaluate and benchmark their schools' IEQ and physical conditions and their teachers' well-being, informing strategic decision about these schools and their teachers.