Do School Uniforms Fit?
School Administrator, Feb, 2000 by Kerry A. White
The study was published in the September/October 1998 issue of The Journal of Educational Research.
* A 1997 policy study by the Reason Public Policy Institute, "School Violence Prevention: Strategies to Keep Schools Safe," examined how school uniform policies fit into a school district's overall school safety and improvement campaign.
Researchers Alexander Volokh and Lisa Snell concluded there's no onestyle-fits-all strategy to combat school violence and improving schools. "If all schools were the same, in demographically similar neighborhoods, with similar crime rates in the surrounding community, with similar quality teachers and similarly committed staffs and similar budgetary constraints," the researchers conclude, "then we would feel safe advocating a common policy for all schools. But schools are self-evidently not like that. The ideal violence prevention policy will likely be different for each school."
More Articles of Interest
The institute's Policy Study No. 234, can be ordered via the Web at www.rppi.org/es234.html.> * A 1996 paper, "School Uniforms and Safety," by M. Sue Stanley, a professor of education at California State University at Long Beach, says school uniforms can "reduce the emphasis on fashion wars and reinforce the acceptability of more practical, less costly school clothing."
The study also concludes that uniforms can reinforce the connection between school, work and success and thus help to promote better overall student achievement. "Uniforms may have a positive impact on school safety," the study say. "Because they are a low-cost intervention that is unlikely to do harm, it appears that they are well worth considering."
The study was published in the August 1996 issue of the journal Education and Urban Society.
* A 1995 study entitled "Violence and Other Antisocial Behaviors in Public Schools: Can Dress Codes Help Solve the Problem?" by Lillian O. Holloman, a professor of clothing and textiles at Virginia Polytechic Institute and State University, identifies clothing-related problems and explores the effectiveness of dress codes. The study identifies the problems that students can get into because of their clothes.
Gang colors and insignias, whether worn intentionally or unintentionally, can get a student jumped or worse, the study says. Status clothes, such as team jackets of professional sports teams, leather coats and designer sneakers, have led to thefts, sometimes by knife or at gunpoint. While school officials have resorted to dress codes and uniform policies to stem clothing-related problems, more research is needed on their effectiveness, it concludes.
The study was published in the Winter 1995 edition of the Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences.
On-line Resources
Looking for more about the use of school uniforms? Here are a few handy resources that you can find on the Web:
* "Manual on School Uniforms." A guide from the U.S. Department of Education that aims to assist school officials and parents in their decision whether to adopt school uniforms. www.ed.gov/updates/uniforms.html
Most Recent Reference Articles
- ARAB EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Dec 22 - Russia Denies Selling Missile System To Iran
- EGYPT - Dec 29 - Opposition Says Mubarak Blessed Israeli Attacks
- ARAB AFFAIRS - Dec 22 - Syria Will Eventually Move To Direct Talks With Israel
- ARAB AFFAIRS - Dec 30 - GCC Denounces Massacre
- ARAB ISRAELI RELATIONS - Israel Issues An Appeal To Palestinians In Gaza
Most Recent Reference Publications
Most Popular Reference Articles
- Credit card debt on college campuses: causes, consequences, and solutions
- The Greek chorus, Jimmy the Greek got it wrong but so did his critics - Jimmy Snyder and his views on pro sports and race
- How Tyler Perry rose from homelessness to a $5 million mansion
- 9 questions to ask your new lover: what you were afraid to ask, but always wanted to know
- Living by the word: light the candles
Most Popular Reference Publications
Content provided in partnership with
