Window Opening Behaviours in Irish Primary Schools: Insights from a Pilot Teacher Survey

This paper presents findings from a pilot survey of ten primary school teachers to evaluate indoor air quality (IAQ) in naturally ventilated (NV) classrooms in Ireland. The survey explored factors influencing window opening behaviour, including responsibility, motivating conditions, and perceived comfort under hypothetical weather scenarios. Analysis combined descriptive statistics with thematic interpretation, and findings were compared with international literature to assess their relevance to the Irish context. Despite the small sample size, the results aligned with broader studies, confirming that teachers primarily controlled ventilation based on subjective perceptions of thermal comfort and IAQ. Classrooms were perceived as more comfortable when windows were open, particularly in mild or warm conditions. Windows were primarily opened for cooling and fresh air, and closed to retain warmth, with barriers including concerns over heat loss, rain, and noise. The findings highlight the complexity of predicting window opening behaviour and underscore the importance of developing teacher awareness and context-specific ventilation strategies that objectively balance thermal comfort with IAQ, providing a foundation for future research into ventilation enhancements in Irish primary schools.