School Uniform: Argumentative Essay

School uniforms are no new thing. They have been around since the 1500s and whether it consisted of a strict shirt and tie or a more casual polo shirt and black pants skirt, they have always caused issues, whether its students not wanting to wear them, the school being strict about how students can and cannot wear the uniforms or parents not being able to afford them. School uniforms are common all around the world with students aged 4-18 wearing them. They may vary from country to country in what the students wear and what is seen as more acceptable or whether the school is strict or take a more relaxed approach towards them. School uniforms are not only just for show and to make the school look better, but they also have other benefits. Statistically, school uniforms reduce bullying on a wide scale across many countries. School uniforms also have security and safety benefits as they easily identify whether a student is in a certain school or not. Furthermore, school uniforms help to create a value consensus. A value consensus is a view in which everyone in society shares the same norms and values. By doing this, it makes the school feel more like a community or family which therefore can make students feel safer and happier.

Pros and cons

School uniforms arguably have many positives and negatives. For example, school uniforms help to prepare students for the world of work. This relates to the sociological viewpoint of Marxists, Bowles, and Gintis. A key idea from these sociologists is the correspondence principle. This is the belief that there are parallels between school and work, and things in school correspond to things in work. For example, by enforcing school uniforms in primary schools, students in later life are more likely to conform to having to wear a dress code or a uniform as they have been doing it for most of their life.

Another positive is that school uniforms are shown to reduce bullying within schools. This has been statistically proven as 23 parents and 46% of children agree. Making every child the same within schools reduces jealousy towards a student or mockery of a student for wearing something either more expensive than that child`s family cannot afford or for wearing something cheaper if that is all that they can afford. However, school uniforms could also increase bullying as poorer children may have hand-me-down uniforms, which students may then pick on them for not looking as pristine and new as they have.

A negative of the use of school uniforms is that they cost a lot. School uniforms are one of the main things parents need to spend money on in order for their children to access free education. This is also known as the cost of free schooling. For a full school uniform, parents could be looking at spending upwards of £40 per child, per year as school uniforms despite their price are not durable. So, all throughout primary school, parents could be spending anywhere around £320, which for some parents families especially of a lower income is unbearable.

A further positive of school uniforms is that they positively affect pupils' behavior within school. This again has been statistically proven in a recent report into attitudes to the uniform which found 9 in 10 teachers believe that school uniform positively affects a pupil`s behavior, whether that be higher levels of concentration or more focus within lessons.

On the contrary, school uniforms can be seen as doing more harm than good. By wearing a school uniform, you are limiting a child's individuality at a key time during their life of finding themselves and being able to express their differences. This is a negative point as in future life, the children may feel that they have to look alike to everyone else and it is wrong to stand out which in the long term could lead to having mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.

Due to the obvious school uniforms, it is easy to determine which school a child attends. This can encourage students to behave, for instance, when going to and from school, because it makes it easier for others to report a child's behavior to a school.