In Singapore, wearing a school uniform is part of every child’s primary and secondary school experience. But does requiring them to wear one affect a student’s behaviour and performance? A new study suggests a concerning reason why students probably should not wear uniforms anymore.
The findings found that despite popular belief, requiring students to wear school uniforms did not seem to affect their behaviour or attendance. Instead, it may be negatively impacting their sense of belonging in school.
The lead author of the U.S. national study was Arya Ansari, assistant professor of human sciences at The Ohio State University. He conducted it with Michael Shepard, a graduate student in human sciences at the same university, and Michael Gottfried, associate professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Wearing School Uniforms Had No Effect On The Behaviour Of Students
With the rising popularity of school uniforms not just in private schools but also in public, Ansari and his team thought about the purpose of requiring students to wear them.
“There hasn’t been much research done on the value of school uniforms in the past 20 years or so, especially given how much their use has increased,” said Ansari.
It has been argued before that uniforms promote better attendance and a stronger sense of community. This then is believed to result in less bullying and fighting among students.
How the study was done
To further look into this, the study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. This followed a nationally representative sample of 6,320 students from kindergarten all through the end of fifth grade.
Aside from reporting how often each student was absent, teachers also rated each student every academic year on the following three dimensions:
- Internalising behaviour problems (e.g., anxiety and social withdrawal)
- Externalising behaviour problems (e.g., aggression or destruction of property)
- Social skills
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Findings showed that school uniforms did not affect these three dimensions of behaviour in any grade. Researchers said this was even after considering other factors that could potentially affect a student’s behaviour.
Low-income students in schools that wear uniforms have slightly better attendance. Still, this difference only amounted to less than one day per year.
Why Students Should Probably Not Wear Uniforms According To Study
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Having no effect on children’s behaviour isn’t exactly the only reason why students should not wear uniforms. Students who did attend school in a uniform reported having lower levels of “school belonging” than those in school without uniforms.
Self-report measures from the same students when they were in their fifth grade were also evaluated. They reported on how close they are to their teachers and peers. Students also opened up about their experiences of bullying and social anxiety.
While school uniforms were not linked to any differences in bullying or social anxiety in children, those who had to wear them felt less sense of belonging in their school than students who attended school without uniforms.
Researchers said the study can’t explain this finding just yet but there are some possible reasons why this might be so.
“While uniforms are supposed to build a sense of community, they may have the opposite effect,” Ansari said. “Fashion 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 like they belong as much.”
With these findings, parents, teachers and administrators are advised by researchers from assuming that school uniforms have positive effects that may not exist.
“School uniforms may not be the most effective way to improve student behaviour and engagement,” added Ansari.
Source: Science Daily
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