Is it true that wearing a school uniform increases the academic performance of students?

Every year, by September 1, disputes about the need for school uniforms flare up on the Internet, supporters of the wearing of which cite, among others, such an argument: it supposedly contributes to a higher performance. We decided to check if this is so.

Statementthat wearing a form in schools has a positive effect on students' assessments is popular on sites specialized clothing stores. Write about the benefits of the dress code in educational institutions and the media-for example, "Teacher newspaper" And "Notebook". Notes This can be found on school And educational portals, as well as on resources For parents. In some articles Even accurate figures are indicated - supposedly the introduction of a mandatory form of clothing increases performance by 60% (in others sources - by 20%); However, references to specific studies that showed such results are not given.

Although in many countries there are not so many discussions about whether it is necessary to introduce the obligatory wearing of the school uniform, there are not so many qualitative studies about the influence of such a dress code on the educational process. By data The British charity organization Education Endowment Foundation (it seeks to increase the level of education among children from the poor layers of the country's population), at the moment there is no convincing evidence that the introduction of the school form is somehow reflected in the academic performance of students. Those studies that nevertheless indicate in favor of uniforms were carried out on a limited number of students and cannot be considered representative, noted in the organization.

In 2022, scientists of the University of Ohio Studied The data obtained during the general American long research, during which, during a representative sample of 6320 children, were observed during training in kindergarten and up to the 5th grade of the school. Some of them were visited by educational institutions with mandatory wearing uniforms, part - without. Researchers could not confirm any significant influence of the school form on the academic performance of students.

According to data researchheld at the University of Otago (New Zealand) in 2021, in the scientific literature that existed at that time there was no sufficiently convincing evidence that would confirm the positive influence of the school form on academic performance. At the same time, evidence analyzed by scientists cited that poorly thought -out decisions in this area negatively affect some students psychologically - especially girls, as well as students from low -income segments of the population, religious or ethnic minorities. By opinion Experts, constant stress negatively affects the assessment of the child. 

Scientists from the University of Sydney (Australia) in the publication of 2016 introduced The results of its study on how discipline in the class affects performance and how, in turn, the school form affects discipline. Researchers turned to the database Programs international assessment of students (PISA), which is conducted by the organization of economic cooperation and development (OECD). Based on PISA data, scientists compared the indicators of countries where the school uniform was introduced and where it is absent, according to the five criteria of discipline: whether students listen to, whether he has to wait until they calm down whether the classes begin in time, what is the level of noise in the classroom and whether the students are involved in the learning process. The authors of the study came to the conclusion that according to the first two of these criteria, students behave better, and children most successful in mastering the program demonstrate a high level of discipline. “The results confirm that in general, the introduction of school uniforms in schools can increase discipline and contribute to better education,” scientists conclude, noting that maintaining order and the right atmosphere during the lessons primarily depends on teachers, and the dress code is only one of the factors that can stimulate more responsible behavior. 

The PISA program collects data not only about the organization of the educational process in different countries, but also about the performance of children-once every few years to 15 years old students around the world is offered to go through an identical test, the results of which allow us to compare the success of training. The latest results presented on the OECD website are for 2018. They shows that in the three leaders among the countries participants in the organization (and in the top ten in the overall ranking) - Estonia, Canada And Finland. Wearing a school uniform in these countries is not necessary and not widespread everywhere, which did not prevent them from overtaking, for example, Great Britain, where the dress code in schools, although not fixed by law, but urgently Recommended the Ministry of Education and widespread (by data Trtex school uniform manufacturer, it is required at 79% of the elementary and 98% of secondary schools).

Tests under PISA have been held since 2000, and during this time, the vast majority of the countries participating in the program, national rules on wearing a school uniform have not changed. One of the few exceptions is Türkiye, where in 2012 the obligatory school uniform under the pressure of the public was canceled. Pisa test results among Turkish students in 2009 They amounted to 464, 445 and 454 points for reading, mathematics and natural sciences, respectively. IN Year of cancellation The forms were the same indicators slightly higher - 475, 448 and 463 points. IN 2018, after another six years, the results of Turkish adolescents in reading, mathematics and natural sciences were 466, 454 and 468 points. As you can see, no serious decline in performance due to the abolition of the obligatory school unit occurred; Compared with the results of 2009, students' estimates improved in all three indicators, with the results of 2012 - in two. 

In some articles on the benefits of the dress code among schoolchildren, teachers declare an increase in performance and improving the discipline in classes after the introduction of a single form of clothing. Such statements made exclusively on the basis of their own observations can be a cognitive trap. In 2010, Wesley Scott Johnson, a scientist from the University of East Carolina (USA), published study, in which he compared polls by the administration of 38 schools, where a form was recently introduced, and data on cases of violence and removal from classes for poor behavior in these schools. Employees of educational institutions argued that with the introduction of school uniforms, discipline and academic performance in schools increased, while in fact, judging by the reports of the Department of Public Education of the state, no cases of violence, nor removal from classes did not become less. This scientific work is not devoted directly to the connection between the school form and the assessments, but it shows well how deceptive the personal observations of teachers can be not supported by statistics. 

Thus, at the moment there is no convincing evidence that the introduction of the school form really contributes to any significant improvement in the academic performance of students. There are not so many devoted to this topic of qualitative studies based on representative data. A significant part of the experts studying this issue agree that wearing a form does not play a significant role in the process of learning and assimilation by students of the material, although there are also those who still see some positive influence. 

Photo on the cover: Monkey Business Images via Canva

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