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

Educators also hoped that uniforms would curb the school violence that stemmed from bullying. A participant said, "Kids were teased a lot for not having certain types of clothes." These clothes included such name brands as Gucci, Versace, and Nike. An example of teasing was cited by the participant, "You don't have people saying Oh you wore that yesterday/ You used to hear that a lot." Additionally, educators believed that uniforms could improve school attendance. One educator said that there were some students who would not come to school "because they did not have what they thought was the proper clothing for their peers."

Regarding policymaking, educators said that several stakeholders were involved in the decision to develop and implement a uniform policy including administrators, teachers, the Parent Teacher Association, and the Student Council. Six years before the uniform policy was implemented at the school, the Board of Education held a public meeting to discuss escalating school violence and to suggest ways to curb the growing trend. In that meeting, school uniforms were mentioned as one of several solutions to prevent and reduce violence among students. Three years later, the school's administrators and members of the Parents' and Teachers' Association sent a survey to all parents and family members to obtain their views on the proposed use of school uniforms. The administration then took the idea to the Board of Education and a public hearing was held. The school adopted the uniform policy after obtaining positive results from all stakeholders. The school's administration then allowed students and their family members to select a type of uniform for the school. Several companies were invited to the school to display their products. After the choices had been narrowed to a few options, students were asked to select the uniform that they liked best.

Question Two. The second question focused on educators' views of how students responded to uniforms. all participants reported that they observed differences in students' behavior-teachers at every grade noted some type of difference in student behavior. One particular difference that educators noted was the reduction in teasing and bullying by students. One educator remarked, "I don't hear about the clothing or teasing in terms of clothing." Also, the uniforms have helped with class attendance. Educators indicated that they believed that the students were learning more in the classroom as a result of the school uniform policy. For instance, one teacher stated, "Well, there is not as much time wasted on telling them to stop 'jone-ing' [competitive, back and forth verbal bantering] on individuals in class." They also noted that the students' sense of pride in their school had grown because of the uniform policy.

When educators were asked if they noted age differences in students' responses to uniforms, educators' responses were mixed. Some indicated that there were no differences at all because there was only a slight difference in student's ages, while others said that there were noticeable differences. It is possible that there are age differences. It is also possible that some educators are more attuned to age differences and reporting such differences. Educators agreed, however, that there were major differences between girls and boys in that the boys demonstrated a more positive attitude towards uniforms. One administrator stated, "More of the young ladies than the men do not like the uniforms. Because the boys like wearing uniforms, they will make sure their shirts are ironed and clean. I mean some will wear nice tailored-like, white shirts and nice pants, nice and pressed. You can see the difference when they walk in the room. Some will even wear a tie sometimes, some of them." As for the attitude of girls in this particular school, another educator added, "Some girls do not want to wear the skirts; they sit as though they have on slacks or jeans. The skirt does not deter them from "un-lady like" behavior. Teachers would try to curb this type of behavior and the girls would reply that they have shorts on underneath their skirts.