Nurturing Schools literature advises considering students’ voices to help determine the influence of policies on cognitive, social, emotional, and ethical intellectual growth. This study employed focus group interviews with middle school students to determine their perceptions of their school uniform policy's effectiveness. Self-esteem issues as well as students’ opinions of uniform colors, branded apparel, and inconsistent enforcement of the uniform policy reflected views that contradicted administrators’ goals for wearing uniforms. Research questions are offered to guide development of a standard measure of student opinions of school uniforms and raise awareness of issues to be addressed when considering a uniform policy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlexanderW. M., and GeorgeP. S. (1981). The exemplary middle school.New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
2.
BeerM., EisenstatR. A., and SpectorB. (1990). Why change programs don't produce change. Harvard Business Review (Nov.–Dec.), 158–166.
3.
Board of Education of the City of New York. (1997). 1996–97 Annual school report.New York: Board of Education of the City of New York.
4.
BosworthK. (1995, May). Caring for others and being cared for. Phi Delta Kappa, 76(9), 686–693.
5.
CollinsD., and MonsourT. (1997, August 20). More St. Paul schools to encourage uniforms for students this year. Saint Paul Pioneer Press, pp. 1A, 5A.
6.
ConverseJ. M., & PresserS. (1986). Survey questions: Handcrafting the standardized questionnaire.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
7.
CrockettD., and WallendorfM. (1998). Sociological perspectives on imposed school dress codes: Consumption as attempted suppression of class and group symbolism. Journal of Macromarketing, 18(2), 115–131.
Education Commission of the States. (1996, May 5). Discipline: Uniforms-education watch. Retrieved December 7, 1997, from http://www.ecs.org/ecs/22das.htm.
10.
GirouxH. A., & SimonR. I. (1989). Popular culture as a pedagogy of pleasure and meaning. In GirouxH. A., & SimonR. I. (Eds.), Popular culture: Schooling and every day life (pp. 1–30). New York: Bergin and Garvey.
11.
GoodladJ. I. (1984). A place called school: Prospects of the future.New York: McGraw-Hill.
12.
GoodnoughA. (1997, March 9). Crew supports having pupils wear uniforms. New York Times, p. 36.
13.
GreenR. L. (1997, May). In search of nurturing schools: Creating effective learning conditions, NAASP Bulletin, (81), 17–26.
14.
GreenR. L. (1998, June). Nurturing characteristics in schools related to discipline, attendance, and eighth grade proficiency test scores. American Secondary Education, 26(4), 7–14.
15.
Hoffler-RiddickP. Y., and LassiterC. J. (1996). No more “sag baggin'”: Student uniforms bring the focus back on instruction. Schools in the Middle, 5(4), 27–28.
16.
HollomanL. O. (1995). Violence and other antisocial behaviors in public schools: Can dress codes help solve the problem?Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 87(4), 33–38.
17.
HoyW. K., and HannumJ. W. (1997). Middle school climate: An empirical assessment of organizational health and student achievement. Educational Administration Quarterly, 33(3), 290–311.
18.
HudsonL. A., and OzanneJ. L. (1988). Alternative ways of seeking knowledge in consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 14, 508–521.
19.
IsraelashviliM. (1997). Situational determinants of school students’ feelings of injustice. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, (4), 283–292.
20.
JamesC. J. (1996). The effect of school uniforms on attendance, suspensions, and expulsions at a public middle school. Unpublished paper, National University, Fresno, CA.
21.
KanterR. M., SteinB. A., and JickT. (1992). The challenge of organizational change.New York: Free Press.
22.
KruegerR. A. (1988). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research.Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
23.
LiebermanA. (1995). Restructuring schools: The dynamics of changing practice, structure, and culture. In LiebermanA. (Ed.), The work of restructuring schools: Building from the ground up (ch. 1). New York: Teachers College Press.
24.
LewisC. C., SchapsE., & WatsonM. (1995, May). Beyond the pendulum: Creating challenges and caring schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(7), 547–556.
25.
LoeschP. C. (1995). A school uniform program that works. Principal, 74(4), 28, 30.
26.
MorganD. L. (1997). Focus groups as qualitative research (2nd ed., Vol. 16). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
27.
O'NeilJ. (1997, May). Building schools as communities. Educational Leadership, 54(8), 6–10.
28.
PaliokasK. L., FutrellM. H., & RistR. C. (1996). Trying uniforms on for size. American School Board Journal, 183(5), 32–35.
29.
SchafferR. H., & ThomsonH. A. (1992). Successful change programs begin with results. Harvard Business Review (Jan.–Feb.), 80–89.
30.
ShankerA. (1989/1990), “What's wrong with schools? Ask the kids.”American Teacher, (Dec.–Jan.), 5.
31.
SheffieldA., & FrankelB. (1989). When I was young I loved school.New York: Children's Express Foundation.
32.
SherI. (1995). An analysis of the impact of school uniforms on students’ academic performance and disciplinary behavior. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Alabama, Birmingham.
33.
SimmonsH. A. (1996). School uniforms contribute to school safety and enhance the learning environment. Unpublished paper, National University, Fresno, CA.
34.
SoderR. (1996). Democracy, education, and the schools.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
35.
StanleyM. S. (1996). School uniforms and safety. Education and Urban Society, 28(4), 424–435.
36.
TaylorS. J., & BogdanR. (1984). Introduction to qualitative research methods: The search for meanings (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
37.
TyackD., & CubanL. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
38.
TysonA. S. (1996, April 12). Schools fight gang colors by pushing uniform gray. Christian Science Monitor, p. 3.
39.
WeberR. H. (1985). Basic content analysis.Beverly Hills: Sage.
40.
YoungC. O. (1996). School uniforms: Short-term effects in an urban high school sophomore class. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
