Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance

The significance of students’ uniforms has been an interesting topic to be elaborated.
Some people concern its outstanding advantages. On the other hand, many others consider it
as unnecessary items and bring several difficulties. In general, uniforms have both advantages
as well as disadvantages.
Wearing uniforms comes with particular advantages, therefore, it has been widely
applied around the world. Initially, it is able to create an equal sense among students. By
wearing the same outfit while attending schools, the gap between students from wealthy and
poor families is minimized. Students may feel that uniforms lessen the significance of
background variety such as the socio-economic status and allow students to interact more
easily. In particular, poor students are unable to purchase fancy and expensive fashion items,
therefore, if different clothes are allowed in schools, they may feel miserable and
uncomfortable when comparing themselves to those with higher economic status. Moreover,
uniforms maintain a social control within the school environment (Brunsma & Rockquemore,
1998). In particular, uniforms represent a positive signal of equalizing students and limiting
school violence or bullying. According to research made by Trutex and The Diana Award
(2017), 9 out of 10 teachers believe that uniforms help reduce bullying, two-thirds of parents
agree that wearing uniforms makes their children's life at school become easier. By wearing
the same clothes, students feel that they are all equal and have the same rights, therefore, they
are less likely to commit bullying or discrimination actions. Moreover, wearing a uniform
helps students concentrate more on the academic priorities. In addition, school uniforms can
be used as an identification tool. Uniforms create an unique identity for both schools and its
students. They are signs of different schools and universities through diverse designs and
logos, therefore, school image will be more recognizable. Moreover, ensures students' safety
by lowering the chance of student victimization (Scherer, 1991). In particular, it makes
students feel equal to each other and identifies people who do not belong to the school.
On the other hand, wearing uniforms still contains some disadvantages. Firstly, it
restricts opportunities for students to express themselves. It is viewed as a restriction of
individualism as it performs institutionalized identities and uncomfortable feelings to
students. In other words, it limited the freedom of students to freely express their
characteristics. This visual impact can be seen from a fact that most students remove
uniforms when participating in individual activities. It happens because uniforms often make
it difficult for students to take part in several types of activities because of physical
discomfort. Especially for the overweight students, it is challenging for them to move

comfortably and effortlessly while wearing uniforms for outdoor activities. Therefore, instead
of expressing themselves willingly, they must suffer from the restriction caused by the
uniform. Global education forces students to wear uniforms in order to enhance their
synchronization rather than showing their identity specifications. Woo et al. (2020) also
stated that most students do not feel that wearing uniforms made any significant contribution
to their feelings towards the school as a positive aspect. To be more specific, they concentrate
more on other values such as interactions between teacher and students as well as friendship
among students. Secondly, wearing uniforms restricts the acceptance of gender variety. It
contains conservative viewpoint towards gender because it forces students to appear in formal
clothes based on two main groups, which are males and females. Therefore, there is a lack of
recognition for LGBTI community such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersexual).
In conclusion, the discussion among advantages and disadvantages will remain a
controversial debate topic in the long run. However, based on the analysis above, it can be
seen that the advantages have outweighed the disadvantages of wearing school uniforms for
students.
References
Brunsma, D., & Rockquemore, K. (1998). Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance,
Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement. The Journal Of
Educational Research, 92(1), 53-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220679809597575
Scherer, Marge. (1991). "School Snapshot: Focus on African-American Culture."
Educational Leadership. 49:17-9.
Trutex & The Diana Award. (2017). Research shows wearing a school uniform helps to
reduce bullying. Retrieved from https://www.trutexbtru2u.co.uk/research-shows-wearing-
school-uniform-helps-reduce-bullying/
Woo, J., Tam, C., Bonn, G., & Tagg, B. (2020). Student, Teacher, and School Counselor
Perceptions of National School Uniforms in Malaysia. Frontiers In Psychology, 11.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01871