School Uniforms as a Controversial Topic in Schools

School uniforms have always been a controversial topic in schools. The question is whether or not they actually impact the students' behavior. There are many explanations as to why making students wear a uniform in school will not change their attitude in the classrooms. Some students act out in school as a way to cope with the stress in their life. For some, their outfits are not their only target for harassment. And for even more the problem is lack of motivation, which is nothing a school uniform can change.

To start, most cases of children misbehaving in school has nothing to do with their clothes or even the school at all. In an article written by Guyana's education department, children will act out in school for attention, power, acting out of boredom, and even fighting with their own self-confidence. A quote from this article goes as follows, 'A general fear of failure occurs when a student feels he cannot possibly live up to any expectations. These students misbehave as a way to avoid participating in anything that may lead to failure. Although the child may seem completely confident with school-related activities outside of the classroom, he acts incapable of functioning in a learning environment,'. This explains that a student may act out in class as a way to avoid failure, and the consequences that come with it. Simply making a child like this change their clothes for school will have no real effect on their mindset at school, nor their overall behavior.

Secondly, a student may be being bullied, but for reasons other than their clothes as well, so changing their clothes may not mean changing their attitudes.The most common type of bullying based on appearance is because of weight. School uniforms may actually even bring out the parts of students' bodies that make them insecure, only making them want to act out more. And making the bullies only bully more. Which definitely does not positively affect classroom behavior.

Thirdly, a child changing their school clothes will not change their work ethic if the problem is a psychological one. According to a Psych Central article, 'Approximately 20 percent of teens experience depression before they reach adulthood, and between 10 to 15 percent suffer from symptoms at any one time,'. This quote emphasizes how many teens struggle with a lack of motivation, a main symptom of depression. Having to deal with school while feeling lost can be incredibly hard on a teenager, and can cause them to act out in school as a way to cope. So neither in this scenario will having students wear uniforms change their behavior in the classroom.

However, switching to uniforms may have some positive effects. A study at the University of Houston shows that uniforms positively affected the students attendance. 'Uniforms have a positive influence on student attendance... Attendance rates in grades 6 through 12 increase by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points after a school adopts uniforms. On the other hand, we find little evidence that uniforms have lasting impacts on achievement [or] grade retention…' And while changing to uniforms will make the students come to class more often, it has no effect on their classroom behavior.

To finish, school uniforms do not affect the way a child acts in school. While research shows that uniforms improve students' attendance, it doesn't mean much when they misbehave and aren't taking in what is going on in the classroom. There are many other factors that cause children to act the way they do. Whether it be a home or personal issue, bullying not related to clothing, or even a psychological disorder, school uniforms have little to no real effect on the way a child behaves in a classroom environment.