Do School Uniforms Improve Academic Performance?
Appearances matter in any society. Not all outfits can be used for different occasions, for instance, a dinner dress may not be the ideal dressing for work. When forming impressions about people, certain aspects of their dressing gives away clues on what kind of people they are or what their intentions might be. For this reason, people pay attention to how they dress and what best resembles their personality.
Schools have not been left out when it comes to this, and good schools are differentiated from the rest based on the attire they prescribe, such that those with more sophisticated attires stand out over the rest.
An average number of schools in Kenya requires that students wear school uniforms at all times; moreover, any other form of clothing is treated as contraband and is confiscated at sight. Most students’ reactions highly criticise this rule and see it as an unnecessary condition that has little relation to academics.
Nonetheless, there are various ends to why schools encourage uniformity among students.
Reasons Why Schools Advance Uniformity
The basic blazer, shirt and tie outfit might not be the thing for you but serves a lot of purposes than you would think. Here are some of its uses:
- Provides identity for a school.
Just like in any organisation wearing a uniform creates an identity for the school and shows belief in what the organisation is all about. It also gives the students a sense of belonging which can only result in positive outcomes.
- School uniforms promote academic performance.
Academic excellence is the initial goal for most school programs in Kenya. Uniformity in schools helps reduce distractions and sharpens students’ focus on core studies.
Having the same uniform means that students worry less about their appearances and peer pressure, which are some of the reasons some students perform poorly in academics when compared to others. Similar outfits also try to eliminate bullying and gang groupings which affect academic performance.
Most students in schools are preoccupied with keeping up with the latest fashions and styles, in case their efforts fail such students are likely to lose motivation of going to school.
It becomes even more challenging when individuals enrol into campuses. Even though such students are mature and able to make the right decisions. There is still some pressure felt due to diversity, not only based on ethnicity but also economic backgrounds. This is why you find unique fashion styles on campus, but individual universities have tried to counter this, a good example is Strathmore University and the medical training institutes.
- Uniformity instils good behaviour among students
School uniforms have the effect of instilling good student behaviour, which translates to excellent academic performance.
A good number of students don’t wear uniforms out of their own will, it’s one of the things people don’t get a say over in Kenya.
A lot of parents and students as well don’t like the idea of uniforms, but all factors considered they simply have the students’ interest at heart, and freedom of expression and expenses on uniforms are the little prices to be paid to improve academic performance and other benefits that come with uniformity.
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