What’s the big deal about school uniform?
Is there any evidence that school uniform affects learning? In a word, no. Or, rather I should say, I'm not aware of any beyond weak testimonials offered by uniform manufactures and the personal anecdotes of true believers. Where there is reputable research, it's equivocal. So, why do schools make such a big deal about uniforms? Well, although it would very difficult to conduct a study which isolated the effects of wearing particular clothes on student achievement, it's probably a lot easier to look at how uniforms might affect social norms and in-group/out-group behaviours. There's a lot of research on how institutional [...]