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Cited by 26School Health and Nursing EducationPublic Health Policies and EducationPoverty, Education, and Child Welfare

Reviewing School Uniform through a Public Health Lens: Evidence about the Impacts of School Uniform on Education and Health

Open access
Reidy, Johanna·2021·Public Health Reviews
DOI 10.3389/phrs.2021.1604212PMC PMC8386814
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Abstract

This study uses a public health lens to review evidence about the impacts of wearing a school uniform on students’ health and educational outcomes. It also reviews the underlying rationales for school uniform use, exploring historical reasons for uniform use, as well as how questions of equity, human rights, and the status of children as a vulnerable group are played out in debates over school uniforms. The literature identified indicates that uniforms have no direct impact on academic performance, yet directly impact physical and psychological health. Girls, ethnic and religious minorities, gender-diverse students and poorer students suffer harm disproportionately from poorly designed uniform policies and garments that do not suit their physical and socio-cultural needs. Paradoxically, for some students, uniform creates a barrier to education that it was originally instituted to remedy. The article shows that public health offers a new perspective on and contribution to debates and rationales for school uniform use. This review lays out the research landscape on school uniform and highlights areas for further research.

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Crossref · 10.3389/phrs.2021.1604212

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  • There is a lack of studies exploring differences between traditional and sports uniforms and their effect on academic, cognitive, physical activity, and psychological indicators such as bullying and discrimination feelings in the same student sample.

    “Despite the abovementioned, there is a lack of studies exploring differences between TU and SU and their effect on academic, cognitive, and physical activities and psychological indicators such as bullying and discrimination feelings in the same student sample (6).”

    From Which one? A comparative study of traditional and sports uniforms on academic achievement, cognitive performance, playtime, bullying, and discrimination in adolescents: The Cogni-Action Project (2022) · cites this paper as [6]

    The Results (Part 1; page unavailable) report little evidence on how students feel about physical activity in uniform, while the Discussion says psychological and physical health impacts have been neglected. The review also describes a same-group crossover study of physical activity on different uniform days. It does not establish the more specific claimed lack of studies comparing traditional and sports uniforms across academic, cognitive, physical-activity, bullying, and discrimination outcomes in the same sample. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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  • Reidy's (2021) systematic review of international literature showed that evidence regarding the effects of uniforms on reducing bullying is limited and inconsistent.

    “However, Reidy's (2021) systematic review of international literature showed that evidence regarding the effects of uniforms on reducing bullying is limited and inconsistent.”

    From Prevalence of Fashion Bullying in Lower Secondary Education: Evidence from Two Urban Romanian Schools (2025) · cites this paper as Reidy, 2021

  • Uniforms have no clear impact on academic performance and may exacerbate inequities for students from vulnerable groups (girls, economically disadvantaged students, and religious or gender-diverse minorities).

    “Moreover, uniforms have no clear impact on academic performance and may exacerbate inequities for students from vulnerable groups (girls, economically disadvantaged students, and religious or gender-diverse minorities).”

    From Prevalence of Fashion Bullying in Lower Secondary Education: Evidence from Two Urban Romanian Schools (2025) · cites this paper as Reidy, 2021

  • The literature shows that the effectiveness of this policy is limited and context-dependent.

    “but the literature shows that the effectiveness of this policy is limited and context-dependent (Reidy, 2021).”

    From Prevalence of Fashion Bullying in Lower Secondary Education: Evidence from Two Urban Romanian Schools (2025) · cites this paper as Reidy, 2021

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4 of the 104 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [35]DaCosta K. Dress Code Blues: An Exploration of Urban Students’ Reactions to a Public High School Uniform Policy. J Negro Educ [Internet] (2006). 75(1): 49– 59. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40026503.
  2. [42]Wilken I van Aardt A. School Uniforms: Tradition, Benefit or Predicament? Education as Change [Internet] (2012). 16(1): 159– 84. Available from: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84863939222&doi=10.1080%2F16823206.2012.692211&partnerID=40&md5=5e2b0b5552162d594c1d7f66261f5922 10.1080/16823206.2012.692211 · DOI · Paper page
  3. [68]Zhang L-X Wang J-P Lyu Y Xi Y-M. Investigation and Analysis on Design and Satisfaction of High School Girls’ Summer School Uniform. [Internet]. J Beijing Inst Cloth Technol (Natural Sci Ed (2014). 34(2): 41– 6. Available from: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84912014211&partnerID=40&md5=facc7ff6c73fe774d7187ca2472624c9.
  4. [69]Sugamiya K. Relations between Clothes Worn by High School Students and Air Temperature in winter. [Internet]. J Jpn Res Assoc Text End-Uses (2000). 41(5): 42– 54. Available from: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0033937496&partnerID=40&md5=0e0ac63656dd94857568ae87eeebbaad

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Authors
Reidy, J.
Affiliations
University of Otago (NZ)
Corresponding author
Reidy, Johanna
ORCID
Reidy, Johanna
Venue
Public Health Reviews
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2021-06-16
Volume
42
Pages
1604212-1604212
ISSN
  • 0301-0422 (ISSN-L)
  • 2107-6952
DOI
10.3389/phrs.2021.1604212
PMC
PMC8386814
OpenAlex
W3192873267
Cited by
25
References
104
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5
FWCI
0.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
corrigendum (2021-12-13)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Public health reviews (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Public Health Policies and Education
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
Keywords
school uniforms, student health, academic performance, mental health, physical health, equity, human rights, gender-diverse students, ethnic and religious minorities, socioeconomic deprivation, educational challenges, uniform policy

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