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A new national study found that school uniforms don't seem to have any effect on young students' behavior or attendance.
The students who attended schools with uniforms reported lower levels of school belonging than the students who did not.
The data came from more than 6,000 children.
The lead author of the study said that a lot of the core arguments about why school uniforms are good for student behavior don't hold up in our sample.
We didn't see a difference in our behavior measures even if the schools had a uniform policy.
Michael Shepard is a graduate student in human sciences at Ohio State and Michael Gottfried is an associate professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania.
Their results were published in a journal.
The issue is important because school uniforms are becoming more popular.
In 1995-96, 3% of public schools required uniforms. Out of every 10 private schools, 6 required uniforms in 2011.
"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, who is also a faculty associate at Ohio State's Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy.
Proponents of school uniforms argue that they promote better attendance and a stronger sense of community, which results in less fighting and teasing.
The researchers used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to test that.
Every academic year, teachers rated each student on three dimensions: internalizing behavior problems, externalizing behavior problems and social skills.
The teachers reported how many students were absent.
Even after taking into account a wide range of other factors that could affect students' behavior, school uniforms had no effect on any of the three dimensions of behavior.
The study found that low-income students in schools that required uniforms had slightly better attendance, but that difference amounted to less than one day per year.
The researchers looked at self-report measures from the same students when they were in fifth grade. Students reported how close they felt to their teachers and classmates. They reported their experiences of social anxiety.
There was no correlation between school uniforms and social anxiety in the children. Those who wore uniforms reported lower levels of school belonging than those who did not.
There are some plausible reasons why this might be so, but the data can't explain it.
He said that uniforms may have the opposite effect.
One way students express themselves is through fashion, and that may be an important part of the school experience. Students may not feel like they belong when they can't show their individuality.
The results of the study should caution parents, teachers and administrators not to assume that school uniforms have positive effects.
School uniforms may not be the best way to improve student behavior.
The Early Childhood Research Quarterly has more information about school uniforms and student behavior. The article is titled "ECresq.2021.09.012".
The study found that school uniforms don't improve child behavior.
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