You cannot view this content because:
- You have refused cookies associated with content from third parties by subscribing. You will therefore not be able to play our videos which require third-party cookies to function.
- You are using an ad blocker. We advise you to deactivate it in order to access our videos.
If you are not in either of these two cases, contact us at [email protected].
EDUCATION – What if school uniforms made students less active? This is what a study from the University of Cambridge says. It shows that young people between 5 and 17 years old tend to do less physical activity when they have to wear a uniform to go to school.
Here, there is no question of physical education classes or extracurricular sports carried out in clubs such as judo, basketball or water polo. The physical activity in question in this study is moderate: it is that practiced when going to class or during recess. It’s walking, cycling or simply running with your friends for X reason. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is recommended to practice at least one hour a day of this type of activity to be in good health. But according to Cambridge University researcher Mairead Ryan, this is not always the case.
Uniform = less physical activity
To carry out this study, a very large sample was taken: around 1.1 million students in nearly 135 countries. All of this data was obviously not collected by hand, but comes from various databases that have been compiled. There are students from primary to high school, and the findings vary.
In countries where uniforms are compulsory (75% of 135 countries), middle and high school students have a duration of physical activity several minutes less than countries where there is no uniform. The main reason for this seems to be the lack of comfort in clothing that is imposed.
But this does not impact all young people. In primary school, children don’t seem to care much about their clothes. “ This can be explained by the fact that they exercise more throughout the day than other students. They run, jump, climb, do more physical activity during their lunch break periods and during the rest of the day » explains the study.
Accentuated gender inequalities
As we grow up, the situation changes, gender inequalities appear and become more pronounced. Indeed, the study shows that females do less physical activity. One reason for this is that their uniform consists of a skirt or dress, which is less practical for running or cycling.
The problem also comes from “ very gendered norms and stereotypes which are still very widespread in education” explained sports sociologist Catherine Louveau to HuffPost. “Sporty girls are told that they are too muscular, that it’s not beautiful… Many people don’t accept seeing them fall, get dirty or take hits. » adds the sociologist.
This study comes as the French government aims to develop uniforms in schools. Voluntary tests in several cities in France must take place during 2024. The main objective according to the Prime Minister (former Minister of Education Gabriel Attal), “ fight against school bullying “. But here too, scientific studies do not show any improvement when the school uniform is introduced.
Also see on Le HuffPost :
You cannot view this content because:
- You have refused cookies associated with content from third parties by subscribing. You will therefore not be able to play our videos which require third-party cookies to function.
- You are using an ad blocker. We advise you to deactivate it in order to access our videos.
If you are not in either of these two cases, contact us at [email protected].
2024-02-15 10:13:59
#School #uniforms #encourage #physical #activity #study #finds
