Sociologist finds school uniforms do not change student achievement

For years, school uniforms were associated with Catholic schools and the elite private schools. However, since the early 1990s a uniform movement has been occurring in public schools across the country. Currently 23 percent of all public schools require students to wear uniforms in an effort to raise academic achievement and curb school violence. However, a new book by David Brunsma, assistant profesor of Sociology, contends that school uniform policies are not effective in either of these efforts.

"It is assumed that school uniforms make students feel better about themselves and, in turn, make them more internally motivated to succeed," said Brunsma. "Several factors can contribute to or contradict this outcome, including parental involvement, communication, student preparedness for school, positive approaches to learning, educational climates and safe schools."

Brunsma's book, The School Uniform Movement and What It Tells Us About American Education: A Symbolic Crusade, analyzes the function of school uniforms based on different areas of interest, including legal, anecdotal, empirical and theoretical. Brunsma's research, which began in 1996, was sparked by President Clinton's effort to implement school uniforms to crack down on gangs and violence in predominately minority and poor areas of the country.

In his study, Brunsma evaluated students from elementary, middle and senior high schools based on age, gender, education, socioeconomic status, political climate, type of school, student body characteristics and other various stimuli. His study concluded that schools in which uniform policies were enforced did not experience positive or negative effects overall. There was no empirical relationship between a uniform code and student achievement, substance abuse or violence, Brunsma said.

"Despite numerous efforts at summarization, there has yet to be a comprehensive look at the details of research on the issue of school uniforms," Brunsma said. "This in-depth analysis of the issue can allow researchers to better conclude how uniform policies affect the academic achievement of students and the learning environments in which they interact."

Brunsma's book was published In July 2004 by an imprint of Rowan & Littlefield: Scarecrow Education.

Additional links:

David Brunsma
Department of Sociology

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