In an experiment entitled "The Impact of Distributing School Uniforms on Education in Kenya" by Evans and colleagues, the influence of school uniforms had a marked and positive effect. While school uniforms were costly for Kenya, the benefits could not be denied, as researchers found that the uniforms caused a 44% reduction in absenteeism of students and that an overall positive outcome was reaped on student performance (Evans et al
Teachers may determine a student's identity by their apparel. Pate (1999) found in her research that 'School children, in elementary and middle schools, have a need to belong and look like their peers; consequently, school hours become the time for group bonding and identity formation'" (Kraft, 2003)
Department of Education. The 60% growth in uniform requirements at school comes despite the fact that research on their effectiveness for safety and school climate is inconclusive" (Loehrke & Murphy, 2013)
It is linked to discipline, that school achievement depends on a good learning environment. Research shows "improvements in language scores and attendance rates in middle and high school grades" especially for girls (Gentile and Imberman 1)
Americans are afraid that uniforms will make their students like robots. Some researchers even suggest that students in Korea are less creative than American students only because they wear uniforms, but this reasoning is false (Park)
It can be said that uniforms prevent problems because they minimize distractions and create a learning environment in which the teacher has a position of authority over the class. Research shows this to be true: "uniforms had a positive influence on school behavior" (Stanley 424)
However, conformity should be a more important value in American schools. Students in Japan, for example, wear the school uniforms because it enhances conformity and control in the classroom, and makes it less likely for children to be truant (Tanioka and Glaser)
In fact, cost savings is a primary reason to support school uniforms. Another argument being used against school uniforms in America is that they may be leading to violence in America (Walmsley)
Other researchers come to the same conclusion about the importance of wearing school uniforms for the discipline and learning environment. "Uniforms can make schools safer and also improve school attendance and increase student achievement," (Yeung 847)
They claim statistics are positive and encouraging. For instance, they could resort to the statistics published by Education Week regarding the drastic decrease in school assaults recorded by the Long Beach Unified School District in California since they implemented a system-wide mandatory uniform policy in 1994 (Knowles: (http://speakout
Buckley, Jr. cited that eighty-five percent of the students from Cardinal Hayes High School in New York, a school that has long had mandatory school uniforms, go on to college, compared with less than fifteen percent in comparable public schools made up of identically endowed students (Buckley 71)
.and provide copies to appropriate organizations representing parents, teachers, and school administrators, and to the interested members of the public" (Clinton 368)
and provide copies to appropriate organizations representing parents, teachers, and school administrators, and to the interested members of the public" (Clinton 368). In March 1998, the movement for school uniforms got perhaps its most sweeping endorsement when New York City's Board of Education voted to require its 550,000 elementary school students to wear uniforms beginning the fall semester (Del Valle B06)
Regardless of the positive evidence, many school districts encounter uniform critics, such as the Parkway School Board in St. Louis, who came up against legal threats from parents who felt very strong about the legal issues of children's First Amendment rights and threatened to take the board to court (Jarrett 1)
S. Department of Justice, roughly fifty percent of high school students reported weapons in their schools, forty percent reported gangs, seventy-five percent were aware of incidents of physical attack, robbery, or bullying, and more than half had witnessed such actions (LaFalce pg)
However, the response to school uniforms is generally so overwhelmingly positive and because many districts leave the issue of uniforms as a volunteer policy, few parents ensue such suits. In fact response for uniforms has been so positive, it led Governor Barnes of Georgia to include uniforms as one the interventions for failing schools under his A+ Education Reform Act of 2000 (Salzer E1)
In President Clinton's 1996 State of the Union Speech, he addressed the subject of school uniforms, saying "I challenge all schools to teach character education: good values and good citizenship. And if it means teenagers will stop killing each other over gang jackets, then public schools should be able to require school uniforms" (Schoonmaker N07)
While some feel it is an invasion of rights, most parents and school officials believe it is a practical solution to dress code policies as well as a deterrent to school gangs and peer pressure and helps to establish a learning environment. 1991 study found that the main interests in uniform dress code included financial savings for the family, the need to teach children that a person should not be defined by his clothing, and parent concerns that children may commit a crime in order to get the money for designer clothing (Thomas pg)
The Department of Education claimed that one of the potential benefits of implementing a school uniform policy would be "helping prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school." However, empirical evidence has failed to prove that school uniforms would minimize gang allegiance; the uniforms themselves "can do little to fight gang violence in our schools," (Felch nd)
" If clothing has the potential to foster healthy identity formation and increase ethnic pride then school uniforms violate the essential rights and freedoms of students from multicultural backgrounds. One of the main arguments in favor of school uniforms is that they might "lessen peer pressure aggravated by socioeconomic divisions," leveling the playing field between wealthy and poor students (Hudson 2009)