In educational institutes, students are required to follow the prescribed dress codes even in university-level education. Because Thailand is one of the few countries in the world that still abide by this rule (Williams, n.d.), questions have been raised to whether or not this compulsion is necessary. Whereas some people view it as one of Thailand’s unique traditions and a symbol of honour, others see it as an outdated and domineering regulation (Pooamorn, 2013). The former idea is that of conservatives, which argues that uniforms remind students of their duty. It indicates that by wearing a uniform that represents the institution, students will be reminded of the honour and respect for the education that they have been so opportune to receive (Saiyasombut, 2013). Moreover, social equality is encouraged among students when wearing uniforms. As much as uniforms scale down dissimilarities among peers, they serve to explicitly define students’ position in the hierarchy. For instance, a professor wearing a formal shirt and slacks is obviously known to occupy a higher rank than students in uniforms. This perspective demonstrates conservatism’s attention on “authority”, which can be a result of humans’ evolutionary history of hierarchical society (“Moral Foundations Theory”,
In educational institutes, students are required to follow the prescribed dress codes even in university-level education. Because Thailand is one of the few countries in the world that still abide by this rule (Williams, n.d.), questions have been raised to whether or not this compulsion is necessary. Whereas some people view it as one of Thailand’s unique traditions and a symbol of honour, others see it as an outdated and domineering regulation (Pooamorn, 2013). The former idea is that of conservatives, which argues that uniforms remind students of their duty. It indicates that by wearing a uniform that represents the institution, students will be reminded of the honour and respect for the education that they have been so opportune to receive (Saiyasombut, 2013). Moreover, social equality is encouraged among students when wearing uniforms. As much as uniforms scale down dissimilarities among peers, they serve to explicitly define students’ position in the hierarchy. For instance, a professor wearing a formal shirt and slacks is obviously known to occupy a higher rank than students in uniforms. This perspective demonstrates conservatism’s attention on “authority”, which can be a result of humans’ evolutionary history of hierarchical society (“Moral Foundations Theory”,