School Uniforms

School uniforms are beneficial to students at all grade levels and can be a contributing factor in improving test scores, attendance and the graduation rate, while decreasing school violence and behavior issues. Research has proven significant connections between school uniforms and the success of public schools. In 1996 approximately three percent of all schools in the United States had a school uniform policy (Gentile & Imberman, 2009) . In 2015 23% of schools reported a uniform policy (Statistic Brain Research Institute , 2015). Inner city schools are more likely than suburban, town, and rural areas to have a school uniform policy, because urban schools often struggle with violence, failing school districts, and attendance policies (U.S Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences) and uniform policies have been proven to benefit such schools.

At first glance, fashion might seem to have very little to do with learning, but as the saying goes, “The clothes make the man,” or in this case “The clothes makes the student”— mandatory uniform policy has made a distinct difference in many schools everywhere. Throughout the last decade, the implementation of such rulings has been on the rise, bringing about waves of debate among students, parents, and teachers. Today, as the number of incidents related to bullying, teen suicides, and gang violence continue to escalate, it has become necessary for educators to provide students with emotional and social support, as well as the traditional academic curriculum. In the interest of reducing these negative effects, school uniforms became a

The debate about public school uniforms in America is an issue that has been around for a very long time. This issue was even mentioned by President Bill Clinton in a previous State of the Union address in 1996. In his 1996 State of the Union Address, President Clinton decreed,” I challenge all of our schools to teach character education, to teach good values and good citizenship and if it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms” (Clinton 1996). Public schools requiring mandatory uniforms for their students are a major topic as it deals with moral and economic concerns about how America’s public schools are operated.

Harassment within schools can be reduced significantly if we implement uniforms. The original role of uniforms was to eliminate distractions and potential harassments such as bullying and sexual. Long Beach in California was one of the first major schools to in force school uniforms and led the transition to a safer, work-friendly atmosphere. “By 2005, about 14 percent of public schools in the United States required uniforms, compared to 3 percent in 1996”(School Uniforms). The successful idea of building safer environment was praised by many including, President Bill Clinton, who would encourage other schools to make the switch. Uniforms are very multifunctional clothing, also serving as an enhancement to

For quite some time now there has been an ongoing discussion about students wearing school uniforms in public schools. Is students in the public-school system play a major role on them academically? Is making the students wear uniforms unfair or does it show equality? What image does it set for the schools that do have a uniform policy? Over the last few decades, the schools, parents, and students have had a debatable issue over the uniform matter.

The idea of uniforms being required for public school students has been a widely controversial topic in the recent past. In the 2003-2004 school year, only one in eight public schools required students to wear uniforms (ProConorg Headlines). In the 2013-2014 school year, one in five public schools required students to wear uniforms (ProConorg Headlines). This essay will discuss the reasons that uniforms restrict the individuality of students, burdens families that cannot afford two sets of clothes for each of their children (Farrell), and serve little to none purpose in benefitting the education of students. Uniforms are meant for the workforce, not school children.

In 1994, the school district of Long Beach California was one of the first to enforce school uniforms in the grades Kindergarten through 8th, and crime rates in the district dropped 22% soon after. School attendance also improved after the uniforms were introduced. Although this one statistic shows there are positive outcomes from school uniforms, there is one question that remains: Do school uniforms help or harm the students and environment at school? The controversy among this topic is that some people believe that uniforms improve the way kids act in class, however, others believe that school uniforms make their behavior worse. Another thing that certain people don’t like about uniforms is that they are very costly. A woman in Indianapolis was interviewed and said that she has five kids that all need uniforms, and with all the costs combined she had to pay almost $700. She found it was an outrage because she has a son who was a senior at the time and she had to pay for his uniforms as well. Even though she believed that uniforms are not an advantage, other people have the belief that uniforms have a positive outcome. In fact, some people think that the students’ behavior becomes subsequently better in the classroom setting; this is proven in the Long Beach study. There is also proof that school uniforms save people lots of money. This is because parents in one

Uniforms undermines a student’s academic performance and achievement. Others say that uniforms help in academic areas and uniforms should be required. “Additionally, educators report a decrease in violence, a reduction in fights in schools and improved student achievement when dress codes have been implemented”(Source D). This quote states that school uniforms are helping students improve in academics and reduce violence. However, in the article “School Uniforms: An Overview”, it states “ He also concluded that the use of school

“If it means that the schoolrooms will be more orderly, more disciplined,” President Clinton said, “and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside instead of what they’re wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms.” President Clinton is referring to the outfits or sets of standardized clothes that are worn primarily for an educational institution, usually in primary and secondary schools in various countries. When used, they form the basis of a school’s dress code, which is a set of rules, usually written and posted specifying the required manner of dress at a school. It began when schools had issues with grades and behavioral problems, but they didn’t want uniforms because it infringed upon individuality. The commotion began when the uniform movement began nearly four years ago when Long Beach, California became the nation’s first public school district to require elementary and middle school students to wear uniforms. Since then, public schools from east to west have debated whether they’re beneficial or not, which has caused the controversy to heat up significantly. Even though requiring uniforms in public schools have been controversial throughout history, it continues to be an area of debate for school communities because research shows that uniform policies do provide benefits to schools, but there are also disadvantages that create unfavorable conditions

Education in the United States from Kindergarten all the way to 12th grade is known for its free education system. That’s right, students all over the country are given the opportunity to retrieve a high school diploma for free. Education in this country is so important that schools around the country are pushing their board of education to propose the policy of school uniforms nationwide, as they believe school uniforms have a very beneficial and positive effect on a student’s learning abilities, behavior, and lifestyle. School uniforms are increasingly becoming more popular throughout the United States, therefore schools across the country are aware of how the uniforms help students make higher grades,

It affects kids when they wear uniforms. According to “school uniforms” The report measured the effects of uniforms on attendance, behavior, substance abuse, and academic achievement Brunsma and Rockquemore concluded that uniforms did not significantly improve any of these criteria, and noted a several-point decrease in the

President Bill Clinton caught word of the new trend of school uniforms on January 23, 1996 prepared the State of the Union Address at the United States Capitol where he addressed the subject. In this speech he, “challenge all our schools to teach character education, to teach good values and good citizenship. And if it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms”. President Clinton called for the children of the nation to evaluate themselves on who they are and not what they look like on the exterior. He acknowledged Long Beach public schools for wearing uniforms and even visited the students. The New York Times reported on the President’s speech saying he is “putting discipline and learning back into our schools”. Interestingly enough, President Clinton was first introduced to the idea of mandatory school uniforms from the First Lady. The New York Times reported that this was in no way mandatory for all states to adopt and this

However, most of these beliefs originate from an experiment done 20 years ago in Long Beach California. The school was struggling with high student criminal rates and then started to require their students to wear uniforms, which, in that particular situation, succeeded in lowering the rates. Yet a lot of studies have been done since then with extremely contradicting results (Do School Uniforms…). A much more accurate study by The National Center for Education Statistics contains results from different students from various schools and locations from eighth grade to college. This study showed that there was no change in issues such as substance abuse, behavioral problems, and bullying. In fact, many schools in England are neglecting uniforms because teachers claim that they are spending too much time arguing with their students over small things like un-tucked shirts, and that it is distracting them from actually educating their students (Do School Uniforms…). This shows that the leaders of a school should not assume that the common beliefs of uniforms are facts, and instead pay more attention to what the students feel; considering they are the ones actually having to wear them. A survey was conducted of 100 students at the East Wake Academy High School in Zebulon North Carolina, freshman through senior classes,

The issue of whether or not school uniforms are a necessity in today’s society has been a long standing debate. However, it did not come onto the national scene until 1996 when then President Bill Clinton spoke of the matter in his annual State of the Union Address. Citing the Long Beach city school district in California, Clinton spoke of the positive effects of uniform implementation, including: decreased drug cases, sex offenses, violent crimes and fights.

The first article, by David Brunsma and Kerry A. Rockquemore (1998), studied the effects of the school uniforms on attendance, behavior and academic achievement. They took the data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. They wanted to see the relationship between the school uniforms and attendance, behavior and academic achievement. They selected students who were in the 8th grade. However, they did some changes in order to adjust the number of the data that used in the analysis. They did that because many sampling were from specific minority groups in the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. They selected they students who participated in their study from the private and public schools. In order to collect their data for their study, they used surveys. They used race and gender as independent variables and behavior and academic achievements as dependent variable. They used behavior scale as their dependent variable in order to see if the student got suspension or the whether the student fought. Moreover, they made a control variable from different type of schools such as catholic schools and private schools. Also, in order to get their result, they used the statistic. They found that the positive correlation between students who wear uniforms and academic achievement was 0.05. So, they suggest there is a relationship between