It's helped to set an atmosphere that school is a place of learning and a place of business. Other school leaders say that in the wake of several recent school shootings, including the Columbine High School incident last April, they want to be assured they re doing all they can to prevent school violence. I think they're a good thing all-around. It teaches more respect for schools and teachers, and it creates a more team-oriented and orderly atmosphere . I'm a parent and know the incendiary influence of clothing and appearance.
Uniforms help take some of that pressure off.
Despite Smith s beliefs and those of like-minded policymakers and school officials, research on the effects of school uniforms has been inconclusive or mixed. In a 1995 study seeking an answer to the question of whether dress codes and school uniforms can help curb school violence and other antisocial behaviors, Lillian O. Holloman, a professor in the department of clothing and textiles at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, concluded that it depends on whom you ask. That's because much of the debate between advocates and opponents, she says, is based on anecdotal accounts rather than scientific data, which is difficult to extract. And, contrary to other studies and hundreds of anecdotal accounts, the authors find a negative effect of uniforms on academic achievement. On the one hand, it grabs our immediate attention.