Editing School uniform (section)

== Controversies ==

{{Pro and con list|section|date=April 2015}}

=== General ===
[[File:Escuela Lenin(estudiantes).JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|220px|Cuban high-school girls, 2009]]
[[File:12.23 「國立臺中高級工業職業學校」學生認真聽總統的講解 (31699754891).jpg|220px|thumb|Pupils in [[Taiwan]]]]
[[File:Pitas Sabah StudentsPrimarySchools-01.jpg|thumb|Primary school boy and girl in Malaysia]]

In some cultures, the topic of school uniforms has sparked a multitude of controversies and debates over the years.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Perspective on School Uniforms  |url=https://www.theperspective.com/debates/living/perspective-school-uniforms/ |publisher=The Perspective |date=17 November 2017 |access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> Debates concerning the constitutionality and economic feasibility of uniforms also contribute to the controversy.

In the United States, the implementation of school uniforms began following ten years of research indicating the effectiveness of [[private schools]]. Some state-school reformers cited this research to support policies linked to private and [[Catholic school]] success. Some public-school administrators hence began implementing uniform policies to improve the overall school environment and academic achievement of the students. This is based on the assumption that uniforms are the direct cause of behavioral and academic outcome changes.<ref name="Brunsma, David L. 1998" /> However, within the Catholic school literature, school uniforms have never been acknowledged as a primary factor in producing a Catholic school effect.<ref>The Catholic school effect is the thought that certain elements in a catholic school provide children with a stronger academic education</ref><ref name="Brunsma, David L. 1998">Brunsma, David L.; Rockquemore, Kerry A. "Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement." ''The Journal of Educational Research'' 92.1 (1998): 53-62. 31 March 2015.</ref>

Another area of controversy regarding school uniform and dress code policies revolve around the issue of gender. Nowadays, more teenagers are more frequently "dressing to articulate, or confound gender identity and [[sexual orientation]]", which brings about "responses from school officials that ranged from indifferences to applause to bans".<ref name="nytimes.com">Hoffman, Jan (6 November 2009). [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/fashion/08cross.html "Can a Boy Wear a Skirt to School?"] ''The New York Times''.</ref> 

[[File:Centro de Estudiantes.jpg|thumb|School girls of Argentina]]

=== Positives ===
[[File:Pupils from Raynes Park High School in south-west London receive a -ShapetheFuture competition runners-up certificate from Justine Greening (14503685759).jpg|thumb|Students in school uniform in the UK]]
[[File:Hurso_Ethiopia_choir_2003.jpg|thumb|Ethiopian school children]]
[[File:High school students, SAS Pudong.jpg|thumb|[[Student]]s of different nationalities at an [[international school]] in [[Shanghai]], China, 2017. The school does not have a uniform.]]

Advocates of uniforms have proposed several reasons supporting their implementation and claiming their success in schools. Advocates believe that uniforms affect student safety by decreasing student victimization, gang activity, and fights.<ref name="faculty.unlv.edu">Brunsma, David L., and Kerry A. Rockquemore. "Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement." The Journal of Educational Research 92.1 (1998): 53-62. Web. 31 March 2015. https://faculty.unlv.edu/sloe/Courses/EPY%20702/Class%20Exercises/Lecture%201%20Materials/Articles/Brunsma%20et%20al.%20(1998).pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305044251/https://faculty.unlv.edu/sloe/Courses/EPY |date=5 March 2016 }}</ref> There has been no concrete evidence of this, and studies by Ohio State University and others showed that uniforms did not increase test scores, grades, or focus. However, attendance increased by less than half of a day. The students felt even less of a sense of belonging at a school with uniforms.<ref name="OSUStudy">{{cite web |url=https://news.osu.edu/school-uniforms-dont-improve-child-behavior-study-finds/ |title=School uniforms don't improve child behavior, study finds |date=2021-12-20 |first1=Jeff |last1=Grabmeier |website=osu.edu}}</ref>

Kathleen Wade conducted an experiment to see if bullying and gang presence was higher in uniform or non-uniform schools. The research was done with multiple schools where she gave a questionnaire to both students and faculty to see if there was a significant difference. Her results showed that bullying and gang presence significantly decreases with students wearing school uniforms.<ref name="doi.org">Wade, K. K., & Stafford, M. E. (2003). Public School Uniforms: Effect on Perceptions of Gang Presence, School Climate, and Student Self-Perceptions. Education and Urban Society, 35(4), 399–420. http://doi.org/10.1177/0013124503255002</ref>
*Differentiating strangers from students in school buildings

For example, in the first year of the mandatory uniform policy in Long Beach, California, officials reported that fighting in schools decreased by more than 50%, assault and battery by 34%, sex offenses by 74%, and robbery by 66%.<ref name="doi.org"/> However the district also added other safety measures like security guards so the success cannot be attributed to the uniforms solely. 

Advocates also believe that uniforms increase student learning and positive attitudes toward school through:

*Enhanced learning environments
*Heightened school pride
*Increased student achievement
*High levels of preparedness
*Conformity to organizational goals

Currently, pros of school uniforms center around how uniforms affect school environments. Advocates say that uniforms may create a safe learning environment for students to help them focus on school work and can lead them to great academic accomplishments. Students who wear school uniforms may not feel anxious or nervous about peer pressure in buying new clothes to fit in or being teased by other classmates.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cui, Y., Fang, X., & Zhou, H |date=January 2018 |title=Green design and sustainable development of school uniforms |journal=IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering |volume=301 |issue=1|page=012122 |doi=10.1088/1757-899X/301/1/012122 |bibcode=2018MS&E..301a2122C |s2cid=169699231 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Proponents have found a significant positive impact on school climate, safety, and students' self-perception from the implementation of uniforms.

However, though modern studies and tests prove uniforms did not increase test scores, behavior, bullying, focus and attendance barely increased.<ref name="OSUStudy"/>

=== Negatives ===
The opposing side of uniforms has claimed their ineffectiveness using a variety of justifications, a variety of which have research supporting them. Some of the cons to school uniforms include the following legal, financial, and questionable effectiveness concerns:<ref name="faculty.unlv.edu"/> The primary concern with school uniforms or strict dress codes is that it limits the ability of students to express themselves. While in countries where uniforms are the norm it simply isn't the case. Clothing is viewed as a means of expression – making all students wear the same clothes or limit them to what they can wear can disrupt their sense of identity. One of the main controversies focuses on dress code policies versus freedom of speech.<ref name="School Dress Codes - FindLaw">{{Cite web
| url = http://education.findlaw.com/student-rights/school-dress-codes.html
| title = School Dress Codes - FindLaw
| website = Findlaw
| access-date = 26 February 2016
}}</ref> This establishes that students cannot wear the latest trends or clothes that the school finds that interrupt the learning environment. However, students can wear clothing that express their religion.  "Both the Constitution and most state laws protect students' rights to wear religious attire... such as the wearing of a turban, yarmulke, or headscarf."<ref name="School Dress Codes - FindLaw"/>

Another negative aspect of school uniforms is that the policy can be sexist. Boys and girls are often not disciplined in the same ways when it comes to dress codes. Girls are more commonly disciplined for certain articles of clothing that are prohibited because they "distract" boys. "Transgender students have been sent home for wearing clothing different from what's expected of their legalness, while others have been excluded from yearbooks."<ref name="Zhou">{{Cite web
| url = https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/school-dress-codes-are-problematic/410962/
| title = Why School Dress Codes Are Sexist
| last = Zhou
| first = Li
| website = The Atlantic
| date = 20 October 2015
| language = en-US
| access-date = 26 February 2016
}}</ref>
[[File:Chaptal_vers_1880_PF.jpg|thumb|Schoolboys in France, 1880]]

Uniforms also generally disadvantage students, especially girls, in freedom of movement and comfort. The research was conducted on an Australian independent private school and its uniform. Comfort-wise, for boys, the blazer was too hot/cold and uncomfortable. For girls, the light coloured cotton school dress was restrictive, see-through, hot, uncomfortable, and impractical. Furthermore, the stockings were often cold, grey woolen kilt was too heavy and restrictive of movement, and the wind could cause it to reveal more than the girls wanted. When playing and moving around, for boys, the school tie  was a choking hazard, and the trousers had no stretch. For girls, the dress/skirt caused modesty issues (e.g. hard to swing on monkey bars/run around while keeping her privacy, hence stop being active), and the kilts were too big and heavy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://girlsuniformagenda.org/2017/06/14/research-girls-school-uniforms-clear-discriminate/|title=Research on school uniforms - it's clear, they disadvantage girls|date=14 June 2017|website=Girls' Uniform Agenda|language=en-AU|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref>

Research on how school uniforms and school dress codes influence the student can be inconclusive. "In the U.S., over half of public schools have a dress code, which frequently outline gender-specific policies."<ref name="Zhou" />

*Legal concerns
**Focus on the supposition that requiring a uniform violates children's individual rights (Thomas, 1994; Virginia State Dep’t of Edu, 1992)
**Mandatory uniform policies are being considered largely for urban school districts, and, hence are being forced on a predominantly minority and poor student population (Thomas, 1994)
*No effect on social status
** Many students felt the school uniform policy had little impact on the social dynamic of the school and students found ways to express individuality by making minor alterations to the school uniform (Da Costa, 2006<ref>DaCosta, K. (2006). Dress code blues: An exploration of urban students' reactions to a public High School uniform policy. The Journal of Negro Education, 75(1), 49-59.</ref>). Some parents and students interviewed in a research about the social aspect of school uniforms said that uniforms were a violation of their rights and freedom. "Like adults, children's freedom to choose or to act is also circumscribed by the community – massively so by schools, with their high density, constant supervision and evaluation, lack of privacy, and the obligatory nature of their activities." (Bodine, 2003<ref>Bodine, A. (2003). School uniforms and discourses on childhood. Childhood, 10(1), 43-63.</ref>)
*Financial concerns
**Groups such as the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] have voiced concerns about the cost of uniforms, specifically that some disadvantaged parents are unable to afford them (Gursky, 1996)
*Questionable effectiveness of those policies
**Strongest opponents of uniform policies charge that no empirical evidence exists to support the numerous and varied claims of uniform proponents (LaPorte, Holoman, & Alleyne, 1992)
**School uniforms suppress students' individuality by mandating standardization of appearance and removing student expression (Joseph, 1986<ref>Joseph, Nathan. Uniforms and Nonuniforms: Communication through Clothing. Greenwood Press, New York, NY, 1986. ProQuest. Web. 18 April 2015.</ref>)
**While uniform policies have been linked to school climate, safety, and student self-perception, there is no evidence to indicate that a uniform policy increases academic achievement (Wade & Stafford, 2003<ref>Wade, Kathleen Kiley, and Mary E. Stafford. "Public School Uniforms. Effect on Perceptions of Gang Presence, School Climate, and Student Self-Perceptions." Education and Urban Society 35.4 (2003): 399-420. ProQuest. Web. 18 April 2015.</ref>)
Students that do not wear uniforms can be just as successful as students who do wear school uniforms. The amount of effort and participation a student does during class determines their academic success, regardless of what they are wearing. Students who wear school uniforms does not grant them academic achievement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brunsma |first=David |title=Uniforms in public schools: A decade of research and debate |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Education |year=2006}}</ref>

According to Marian Wilde,<ref>{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.btuonline.com/pdfs/Education%20News%20PDFs/uniformdebate.pdf
  | title       = The Debate Over Dress Codes and Uniforms
  | last        = Wilde
  | first       = Marian
  | date        = July 2006
  | publisher   = Boward Teachers' Union
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150427130140/http://www.btuonline.com/pdfs/Education%20News%20PDFs/uniformdebate.pdf
  | archive-date = 27 April 2015
}}</ref> additional opponent arguments include that school uniforms:

* Are simply a Band-Aid on the issue of school violence
* Make students a target for bullies from other schools
* Are an unfair additional expense for parents who pay taxes for a free public education
* Are difficult to enforce in state/public (government) schools