School uniforms: What does the research tell us?

There is little evidence that school uniforms remedy behavior problems or boost academic performance. And while compatible policies might accept a slight, positive impact on school attendance, nosotros need to consider the downside: For some kids, uniforms may have a negative effect on well-beingness.

Proponents take argued that school uniforms are a good thing for morale and community spirit. Some people accept besides claimed that compatible policies cause improvements in school attendance and academic achievement. And it's like shooting fish in a barrel to appreciate the reasoning.

If everyone wears the aforementioned matter, it might foster a sense of group identity, and help conceal socioeconomic differences betwixt individuals. In improver, uniforms eliminate "competitive dressing," which ought to reduce levels of conflict and distraction. Every bit a result, kids are less likely to misbehave, and more than likely to focus on learning.

These claims have intuitive entreatment. But does the evidence back them up? In many cases, the respond is no.

No compelling prove that uniforms improve a school'southward social climate

"Detect a school, innovate uniforms, and and so wait for improvements."

Information technology seems similar a sound arroyo for testing the furnishings of a school uniform policy. But it isn't. Not past itself.

For example, back the 1990s, the Long Beach Unified School Commune in California reported substantial reductions in educatee criminal behavior later on allowing its member schools to adopt uniform policies (Yeung 2009). But this change didn't happen in isolation. Schools oftentimes implemented other reforms at the same time.  How can exist we sure that improvements in student discipline were triggered by the wearing of uniforms? We tin't.

So while some people became convinced that uniforms were the cause of the behavioral improvements in Long Beach public schools, they shouldn't have been. When researchers have taken a careful look at the information, they've found little or no evidence that uniforms had any lasting, positive effects on students (Yeung 2009; Brunsma 2006).

There was, at all-time, indication some centre school and high schoolhouse students — particularly girl students — had slightly improve attendance rates when they wore uniforms. Only how much difference did it brand? Just half a day more omnipresence over the entire school yr (Gentile and Imberman 2012).

It's non a very inspiring effect, and a recent report — of kids attention public and individual schools throughout the Usa — tells a similar tale.

In this new study, Arya Ansari and his colleagues tracked the progress of more than than 6300 children over fourth dimension, from kindergarten to the fifth course.

Each twelvemonth, teachers provided data about children'due south behavior problems and social skills. And when the kids were in the fifth grade, researchers interviewed the children direct. They asked the kids if they were experiencing symptoms of social anxiety, and if they had ever been targeted by bullies. They also asked the kids questions most social belonging. Did they feel shut to their teachers? Shut to their fellow students?

With this data nerveless, Ansari's squad performed statistical analyses to come across if educatee behavior varied depending on a schoolhouse's uniform policy.

The effect? When it came to instructor's reports, at that place was no prove of a link between uniforms and student behavior.

Kids who attended schools with a uniform policy were just equally likely every bit other children to suffer from emotional problems. They experienced similar rates of depression. Like rates of assailment, defiance, and property destruction. Children's social skills were basically the same, regardless of whether they wore uniforms or not.

Likewise, the children themselves reported comparable experiences with social feet and bullying. And social belonging? That was the one area in which uniform-wearing children reported significantly different outcomes, and information technology didn't favor uniforms.

Kids who were required to clothing school uniforms tended to feel less close to teachers and classmates.

So — for these 6300 kids — school uniforms didn't seem evangelize any substantial psychological benefits. And that was truthful whether kids attended public or individual schools. The single, positive result was a very modest advantage observed for a subset of students: In low- income schools, uniforms were linked with slightly college attendance rates — a difference amounting to less than ane solar day over the course of the school year.

Do school uniforms reduce distractions in the classroom? Do they assistance kids acquire?

It sounds plausible, doesn't it? And there is evidence in back up of the idea. For case, in their big, international study of secondary schools, Chris Baumann and Hana Krskova found that students wearing school uniforms tended to mind more attentively to their teachers (Baumann and Krskova 2016).

Listening attentively to teachers is obviously a skillful thing. Moreover — equally the researchers noted — students in this report tended to perform better in classrooms where attentiveness was the norm. Then Baumann and Krskova have suggested that all schools consider adopting a compatible policy, on the grounds that it "might heighten subject field and allow for improve learning" (Bauman and Krskova 2016).

But equally nosotros've already seen, other studies have failed to confirm the hypothesis that uniforms reduce behavior problems. And when researchers apply rigorous methods, they haven't found any compelling evidence that uniform policies really heave academic achievement (e.g., Hattie 2009; Gentile and Imberman 2012).

And so, despite claims to the contrary, information technology isn't articulate that school uniforms benefit students socially or academically. And that should make us stop and reflect earlier imposing a uniform policy. Because it isn't simply a question of taking a risk on the benefits. There are also potential costs to consider.

What tin get wrong with school uniforms?

Nosotros've already seen one possible downside. In the study led by Arya Ansari, kids who schoolhouse uniforms were less probable to feel socially connected with teachers and young man students. Why? The researchers tin't exist sure. But, in this interview at Ohio Land University, Ansari speculates that it might have something to do with the quashing of individuality:

"Manner is one way that students express themselves, and that may be an important part of the school experience. When students can't show their individuality, they may not feel similar they vest as much."

Johanna Reidy — a public health researcher based in New Zealand — has identified several additional areas for business (Reidy 2021).

School uniform policies tin can create cultural conflicts, equally when members of a religious group are asked to apparel in a style that is inconsistent with their beliefs or practices. And gendered uniforms can present a host of difficulties. Reidy notes that girls' uniforms tend to be more than expensive. In improver, the pattern of girls' uniforms may make it harder for girls to engage in athletic activities (Nathan et al 2021). And some students may object to the very idea of wearing clothing that is differentiated by gender.

Then at that place is the question of affordability. What if the cost of a schoolhouse uniform is burdensome to low income families? This problem has been documented in countries throughout the world, including affluent countries like New Zealand, Republic of korea, and the United States.

And of course uniforms must serve the basic function of protecting students from the elements. In principle, well-designed uniforms  should protect kids from cold, heat, and sunday-related skin damage. In reality, uniforms aren't ever well-designed (Reidy 2021).

Does this mean that school uniforms are pointless…or worse?

Definitely non. All of the studies cited here fall short of the "golden standard" of scientific research — randomized, controlled experiments. If and when researchers finally conduct such experiments, we might discover that uniforms benefit students in important ways.

But for now, it doesn't appear that school uniforms have whatsoever direct and substantial impact on socioemotional development or bookish achievement.

To date, studies support that notion that some people perceive schools as safer or more disciplined when students wear uniforms (Yeung 2009). We have the report that teens tended to listen more intently to their teachers (Bauman and Krskova 2016). And it looks every bit though uniforms may increase school attendance, if just very slightly. Just these observations autumn brusque of bold claims nearly school morale, community spirit, and academic performance.

Schoolhouse officials may come up with other reasons to implement a uniform policy. But they can't justify it on the basis of conclusive research about school climate and educatee achievement. If in that location'southward a single message that arises from these studies, information technology's that schoolhouse uniforms aren't probable to have much impact on either behavior bug or academic outcomes. If we really want to assistance students in these areas, nosotros need to exercise much more than redesign their apparel.

More reading about children and schooling

For more information well-nigh means that nosotros can help kids excel in schoolhouse, run across these Parenting Science articles:

Student-teacher relationships: Why emotional support matters

Spaced learning: Why kids benefit from shorter lessons — with breaks

Choosing books for first readers: Sometimes less is more

Disruptive behavior problems: 12 bear witness-based tips for treatment assailment, defiance, and acting out

How to stop bullying in school: An evidence-based guide to interventions that work

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References: The research on school uniforms

Ansari A, Shepard Thou, and Gottfried MA. 2022. School uniforms and student behavior: is in that location a link? Early on Childhood Research Quarterly 58: 278.

Baumann C and Krskova H. 2016. School Discipline, School Uniforms and Academic Performance. In Int J Educ Manag thirty(6):  1003–29.

Brunsma  D L. 2006.Uniforms in public schools: A decade of research and debate. Lanham, Medico: Rowman & Littlefield Educational activity.

Gentile E and Imberman SA. 2012. Dressed for success? The effect of schoolhouse uniforms on student achievement and behavior.  Journal of Economics  71: 1-17.

Hattie J. 2009. Visible Learning: A Synthesis of over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Accomplishment. Routledge.

Nathan N, McCarthy N, Hope Grand, Sutherland R, Lecathelinais C, Hall A, Lane C, Trost Due south, Yoong SL, Wolfenden L. 2021. The impact of school uniforms on primary school student's concrete activity at schoolhouse: outcomes of a cluster randomized controlled trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Human activity. 18(1):17.

Reidy J. 2021. Reviewing School Compatible through a Public Wellness Lens: Evidence about the Impacts of School Compatible on Education and Health. Public Health Rev. 42:1604212.

Yeung R. 2009. Are Schoolhouse Uniforms a Good Fit? Educ Pol. 23(vi):847–74.

Content final modified i/5/2022

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