Are you pro or con school uniforms? I'm asking for a friend...

As we prepared to bid adieu to the 2020-21 school year, the last few days got quite heated on campus. The main culprit? Discussions relating to school uniforms. It has not been surprising to see that 99% of students (not necessarily scientifically calculated, but a solid guesstimate) were against it. What did surprise me however, was how many of the teachers didn't see it as an appropriate policy to implement. I chalk this up primarily to the fact that it is hard to make a drastic change like this, much like it might be difficult to begin a new exercise regime after a long layoff. I would assume that if teachers were working at a school that already had a uniform policy, this would not be much of an issue.

A little sidebar here.... Having lived, and raised school aged children, in Europe and Asia, where school uniforms are much more prevalent than in the US, I have seen first hand the impact of such a policy on students and their parents. Overall it seems to me that it works quite well and there is a minimal loss of self identity, worth, and overall well being. My wife wore very formal uniforms for her entire schooling career and she turned out just fine! Exhibit A:

But enough of my anecdotal evidence, what does the science say? There hasn't been a tremendous amount of formalized research on the pros and cons of uniforms, but perusing the journals here are some conclusions from those studies:

• improved discipline, better listening, lower teacher waiting times (Baumann, Chris; Krskova, Hana. International Journal of Educational Management, 2016. DOI: 10.1108/IJEM-09-2015-0118.)
• improved attendance and better retention (Gentile, Elizabetta; Imberman, Scott A. Journal of Urban Economics, 2012, Vol. 71. doi: 10.1016/j.jue.2011.10.002.)
• better treatment, notably of female students (Sanchez, Jafeth E.; Yoxsimer, Andrew; Hill, George C. Journal of School Violence, 2012. DOI: 10.1080/15388220.2012.706873.)
• no loss of personal identity (University of Nevada, Reno College of Education researcher Jafeth Sanchez)
• inconclusive evidence of better student achievement (Yeung, Ryan. Educational Policy, 2009, Vol. 23. doi: 10.1177/0895904808330170.)

on the flip side:

• One study did find a negative effect on academic achievement (Brunsma, David L.; Rockquemore, Kerry A. The Journal of Educational Research, 1998, Vol. 92. doi: 10.1080/00220679809597575.)

Overall it appears that the formal studies show a net benefit. As most teachers, businesses and parents know, if you can achieve a marginal improvement that is greater than the marginal cost, then that task is worth doing. 

Clearly this isn't a cut and dried issue. But should it even be an issue? What do you think? Are you pro or con school uniforms? Would you reconsider sending a your child to a school that imposes such a standard?