Black Educators' Views on Middle School Students' Dress and Uniforms: Addressing Challenges from Commercialism*

Journal of Negro Education, The, Fall 2003 by Alleyne, Sylvan I, LaPoint, Velma, Lee, Jennifer, Mitchell, Harold W

Youth dress, influenced by commercialism, impacts students' attitudes and behaviors in public schools. This article reports quantitative data and qualitative data on Black educators' views on student dress and behavior, including the use of uniforms. Findings indicate that educators support the use of school uniforms because they believe that uniforms reduced the risk of both psychological harm and school related problems. Younger students (sixth graders) agreed with the educators while the older students disagreed. These findings generally reflect the views of many educators who are grappling with effective strategies to reduce dress-related problems among youth in public schools.

Children and adolescents are socialized around dress across several settings such as the family, school, marketplace, workplace, and others. Research has been conducted on dress socialization and its influence on children's development and has identified many dress-related challenges and problems within these various contexts (LaPoint, Alleyne, Lee, & Mitchell, 2003). Many public schools, especially at the elementary and middle school levels, have begun to implement student uniforms in an effort to promote student health and safety (Lopez, 2003). Very little empirical research exists on the effectiveness of school uniforms on student achievement and social competence. Moreover, little research exists in educators' views on the nature of dress-related problems at school, especially the views of educators of color (LaPoint et al., 2003).

This article reports qualitative and quantitative data on Black educators' views on dress and behavior in a public middle school in a large Northeastern city. It is part of a larger study on youth dress and behavior and includes data collected from students (LaPoint et al., 2003). The article includes a literature review, a description of the study including the sample and methods, analysis and findings, and implications for further research, policies, and programs relating to the use of uniforms in public schools.

LITERATURE REVIEW

While literature on student dress and behavior in public schools often cites educators' views on youth dress and behavior in public schools, it is often anecdotal (LaPoint et al., 2003). The literature generally focuses on educators' (e.g., teachers, administrators, staff) views of challenges of youth dress to classroom and school behaviors and the solutions to theses challenges, including the use of uniforms (King, Walker, & Minor, 2002; King, 1998; LaPoint et al., 2003; Lopez, 2003; Mitchell & Knechtle, 2003). Research and reports are inconclusive about the positive impact of uniforms on various academic and academic-related behaviors (Brunsma & Rockquemore, 1998; LaPoint et al., 2003). Moreover, some research indicates mixed support for the use of uniforms in public schools (National Association of Elementary School Principals, 1998) even though the federal government issued guidelines encouraging the use of uniforms in public schools (U.S. Department of Education, 1996). Finally, the literature, generally does not relate commercialism influences on youth dress in schools to broader commercialism influences in other settings (LaPoint & Alleyne, 2001; LaPoint et al., 2003). The present study provides empirical data, both quantitative and qualitative, on educators' views on the use student uniforms in one public middle school. It also provides data on educators' views about commercial influences on students' attitudes and dress in the school and other socialization settings.

THE RESEARCH STUDY

The study used two approaches to obtain educators' views on student dress and behavior in a public middle school in a northeastern U.S. city. The first was a survey that examined Black educators' attitudes toward dress and behavior among students. These data were compared with the data obtained from all students in the school (grades 6, 7, and 8). The second approach was a focus group to explore the perceptions of teachers and staff on the implementation of school uniforms. The school was selected because it had implemented, the prior year, a school uniform policy. Like many schools implementing uniform policies, the school's student body was middle school students-where it is often easier to implement a school uniform policy at the lower grades than at the high school level in public schools (LaPoint et al., 2003).

The school had 343 students-295 African American students (86%) and 48 Hispanic American students (14%). There were 151 girls (44%) and 192 boys (56 %). The majority of students were low income as defined by 243 students (71%) receiving free and reduced lunches. There were 24 Black teachers, counselors, administrators, and other staff.

Data Collection and Analysis

The researchers administered an instrument, the Teachers and School Personnel Survey: Dress and Behavior among Students, which was developed by the first two authors of this article. It was a self-administered questionnaire completed by 16 teachers at the same time that the students completed their surveys at the school (LaPoint et al., 2003). The questionnaire has four sections: (a) demographic background; (b) knowledge about dress and behavior; (c) attitudes about dress and behavior (i.e., subscales on personal harm, status due to dress, school-related issues, gang-related behavior); and (d) personal experiences and practices. This article focuses on a comparison of teachers' and students' attitudes toward the four subscales mentioned above. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) with chi-square tests to establish differences between the educators and students.