Reported voice difficulties in student teachers: A questionnaire survey

As professional voice users, teachers are particularly at risk of abusing their voices and developing voice disorders during their career. In spite of this, attention paid to voice care in the initial training and further professional development of teachers is unevenly spread and insufficient. This article describes a questionnaire survey of 171 trainee teachers at the end of their Postgraduate Certificate in Education year that included the Voice Handicap Index . The survey aimed to identify the prevalence and types of voice problems experienced by students during their teaching practice and to relate these to previous history and to the area of the curriculum they were teaching. The analysis suggests that over a third of trainees suffer from voice difficulties on teaching practice and that one student in 12 was classified as having a moderate handicap as defined by the VHI. Trends of symptoms particular to individual curricular areas appear to be a fruitful area for further study