School uniform
A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, Oceania, the British Isles and much of the Americas, but are not common in the United States, Canada, and most countries in continental Europe.
An example of a uniform would be requiring button-up shirts, trousers for boys, and blouses and pleated skirts for girls, with both wearing blazers. A uniform can even be as simple as requiring collared shirts, or restricting colour choices and limiting items students are allowed to wear.
Uniform
Although often used interchangeably, there is an important difference between dress codes and school uniforms: according to scholars such as Nathan Joseph, clothing can only be considered a uniform when it " serves as a group emblem, certifies an institution's legitimacy by revealing individual's relative positions and suppresses individuality."Conversely, a dress code is much less restrictive, and focuses "on promoting modesty and discouraging anti-social fashion statements", according to Marian Wilde. Examples of a dress code would be not allowing ripped clothing, no logos or limiting the amount of skin that can be shown.
History
It is difficult to trace the origins of the uniform as there is no comprehensive written history, but rather a variety of known influences. School uniforms are believed to be a practice which dates to the 16th century in the United Kingdom. It is believed that the Christ's Hospital School in England in 1552 was the first school to use a school uniform. Students were given a uniform that most notably consisted of a long blue coat and yellow, knee-high socks. An almost identical uniform is still worn by students attending the school today. The earliest documented proof of institutionalized use of a standard academic dress dates back to 1222 when the then Archbishop of Canterbury ordered the wearing of the cappa clausa. This monastic and academic practice evolved into collegiate uniforms in England, particularly in charity schools where uniform dress was often provided for poor children. Universities, primary schools and secondary schools used uniforms as a marker of class and status. Although school uniforms can often be considered conservative and old-fashioned, uniforms in recent years have changed as societal dress codes have changed.Contemporary
In the United States, a movement toward using uniforms in state schools began when Bill Clinton addressed it in the 1996 State of the Union, saying: "If it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms." As of 1998 approximately 25% of all U.S. public elementary, middle and junior high schools had adopted a uniform policy or were considering a policy, and two-thirds were implemented between 1995 and 1997. New York City's then-new schools chancellor, Rudy Crew, made it clear that he would not follow Clinton's idea.There is an abundance of theories and empirical studies looking at school uniforms, making statements about their effectiveness. These theories and studies elaborate on the benefits and also the shortcomings of uniform policies. The issue of nature vs. nurture comes into play, as uniforms affect the perceptions of masculinity and femininity, over-simplify issues of gender classification, and attempt to suppress students' sexuality. Uniforms bring a variety of pros, cons, and major legal implications and controversies.
There are two main empirical findings that are most often cited in the political rhetoric surrounding the uniform debate. One of these, the case study of the Long Beach Unified School District, is most often cited in support of school uniforms and their effectiveness whereas Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement is the most frequently cited research in opposition to the implementation of school uniform policies.
Effects of uniforms on students
The case study of the Long Beach Unified School District was the study of the first large, urban school in the United States to implement a uniform policy. In 1994, mandatory school uniforms were implemented for the districts elementary and middle schools as a strategy to address the students' behavior issues. The district simultaneously implemented a longitudinal study to research the effects of the uniforms on student behavior. The study attributed favorable student behavioral changes and a significant drop in school discipline issues to the mandatory uniform policy. Wearing school uniforms was associated with fewer absences and truancies and fewer referrals to the office for behavior problems. Suspensions and expulsions were reduced by 28% and 36%, crime and vandalism by 74% and 18%. However the school district also added other security measures such as security guards,and metal detectors so the success cannot be solely attributed to the uniforms. The district later removed the uniforms.
Other research found that uniforms were not an effective deterrent to decrease truancy, did not decrease behavior problems, decrease substance use, and in fact may be associated with poorer student achievement relative to students not required to wear school uniforms.
Brunsma stated that despite the inconclusiveness of the effects of uniforms, they became more common because "this is an issue of children's rights, of social control, and one related to increasing racial, class and gender inequalities in our schools."
Laws and rulings
As uniforms have become more normalised, there have also been an increasing number of lawsuits brought against school districts. According to David Brunsma, one in four public elementary schools and one in eight public middle and high schools in the United States have policies dictating what a student wears to school. The school code within states' constitutions typically asserts that it allows the board of school directors to make reasonable rules and regulations as they see fit in managing the school's affairs. As of 2025, there are currently 22 states that allow school districts to mandate school uniforms. The constitutional objections usually brought upon school districts tend to fall into one of the following two categories: a violation of the students' First Amendment right to free expression a violation of parents' right to raise their children without government interference. Although up until this point, The Supreme Court has not ruled on a case involving school uniforms directly, in the 1968 decision Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Court ruled that upon entering school, students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech.Internationally, there are differing views of school uniforms. In the Australian state of Queensland, Ombudsman Fred Albietz ruled in 1998 that state schools may not require uniforms. In the Philippines, the Department of Education abolished the requirement of school uniforms in public schools. In England and Wales, technically a state school may not permanently exclude students for "breaching school uniform policy", under a policy promulgated by the Department for Children, Schools and Families but students not wearing the correct uniform are asked to go home and change. In Scotland, some local councils do not insist on students wearing a uniform as a precondition to attending and taking part in curricular activities. Turkey abolished mandatory uniforms in 2010.