In this blog I will put forward a view that I believe is one of the most practical and feasible solutions to reducing physical inactivity during the school day – changing the design of school uniforms.
I will spare you the alarming statistics of just how inactive our children are, and despite some minor increases in most recent data (Woods et al 2023), suffice to say that action is needed. At the outset, I should make it clear that I am not suggesting to ‘ban’ school uniforms. A plethora of research has confirmed the importance of uniforms in easing the psychological and financial pressure of competitive dressing (Reidy 2021; Nathan et al 2021). In short, I am suggesting that schools consider how conducive uniforms are to engaging in physical activity.
Typically, school uniforms are formal, and girls are required to wear a uniform that may comprise of a dress or tunic with socks or stockings and black leather shoes. The impracticality of school uniforms is a well-documented impediment to physical activity. Research suggests that traditional school uniforms restrict movement, hold students back from playing sport and engaging in non-prescribed physical activity during the school day (Stanley, Boshoff and Dolman, 2012; Watson, Elliot and Metha 2015). Indeed, we need not look to the mounting international evidence regarding the role of activity enabling uniforms, and just listen to the views of the students themselves. The importance of schools having a physical activity friendly school uniform policy was cited as one of nine key recommendations from a recent national stakeholder forum on sport among young people in Ireland (Government of Ireland, 2022).
Ongoing research in the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre at the University of Limerick revealed in a recent study that over 50%, or one in every two students, indicated that school uniform is a barrier to engaging in physical activity during the school day. Interestingly, significant disparities were also found between students in girls, boys, and co-educational schools. For example, over 70% of boys in all-boys schools were allowed to wear PE gear to school on Physical Education (PE) days, however, 72% of girls in all-girls were not allowed. In the same research study examining students’ attitudes towards PE more broadly, participants were asked an open-ended question on recommendations for improving their experience of PE, of the 423 responses to the question, 117 referred to changes to uniform specifically, 79% of whom were female.
Many school-based physical activity interventions are complex and have modest effects when delivered in real world contexts (Nathan et al 2021). Modifying the design of school uniforms represents a simple and cost-effective measure that can achieve improvements in population level physical activity. Sometimes the best solutions are the most obvious, it is time to grasp the low hanging fruit.
Le meas,
Brendan O’Keeffe
Dr Brendan O’Keeffe is an Assistant Professor in Physical Education in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, UL.
Contact: Brendan.okeeffe@ul.ie @BrendanOK_
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