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Cultural Identifiers Topic Essay Amanda Powell
Child Development Including Health, Safety, and Nutrition (ECS-235)
Grand Canyon University
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Amanda Powell
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
EDU 330: Social Justice for Educators Mrs. Barnett 1/29/
Cultural Identifiers Topic Essay The topic that I chose for this essay is dress code and school uniforms. I chose this particular topic as it is such a multifarious and controversial topic in K-12 education. This topic vastly affects the students as well as the parents as everyone wants their children to be comfortable and secure in their own skin. The thought of being able to express their individuality is also something that affects the clothing choices that are made and taken into consideration by the children. While being able to be comfortable and express themselves is something that is important I feel that those aspects can be taken into consideration outside of school when it comes to clothing. “Nonetheless, it appears that uniform may contribute to an environment that fosters academic achievement.” (Reidy, 2021). Personally I fully support the wearing of school uniforms as it helps ensure a great number of things stay under control in the learning process of the classroom as a parent and as a future educator. The use of a uniform instead of dress code will help to eliminate some of the outfits that I have seen females wear in school and then they wonder why they are dress-coded for belly shirts, ripped jeans, or lack of material in locations. For the most part dress codes are that shorts and skirts have to reach the tip of your middle finger with your hands at your sides to be allowed, tank tops have to have a 1-2 inch strap, no belly shirts, or revealing clothing. Dress codes do not infringe on vestments that cultural or religious identifiers require. Although, with these codes that are in place in schools there are many times that they are violated without staff members noticing in a timely manner as children are clever at circumventing these rules cultural identifier that my topic choice involves is that of the students socioeconomic status. With that in mind this topic ensures that the students are all treated equally and helps to ensure the rights of the students as well as allowing for religious freedom. (Reidy, 2021).
There are many reasons that dress code and school uniforms are especially important for ensuring that the students are in a safe environment and that there are minimal distractions that can deter their learning capabilities. Social justice comes into the scenario with regards to this topic as it is to ensure that everyone has equal economic and political rights, opportunities, and responsibilities. With regards to dress
more about will it have a positive or negative impact on the student population and ensure that it does not violate their rights in any way.
There are many historical events that have had an impact on dress code. These different events have caused a change in so many different aspects of what is and is not allowed to be worn in school. One of the earlier events that had an impact on dress code was back in 1969. This particular case addressed students who wore black armbands in an anti-war protest in the Vietnam War era.(Dress Codes, n.). Since then there have been many different cases that have been brought forth about different aspects of the way students dress US originally started with uniforms in Maryland and Washington in 1987 and were voluntary. The first time that uniforms were issued for all k-8 students in a school in the United States was in California in 1994. In the following year the case of Bivens by Green v. Albuquerque Public Schools “sagging pants” prohibited by the school dress code did not constitute freedom of expression because, unlike the wearing of black armbands to protest the Vietnam War, it did not convey a “message,” nor did it represent an ethnic identity”(ProCon, 2022). In 2008 another court case said that uniforms “The court held that a school district’s mandatory school uniform policy did not violate students’ free speech, free exercise, or due process rights under the governing standard of intermediate constitutional scrutiny.” (Jacobs V. Clark County School District, 2008).
Not all schools have instituted a school uniform as the many that have are private schools and/or religious schools. Dress codes are focused more on those in the public school district as they have not brought uniforms into place. This is something that would be a wonderful thing to change as it would be beneficial in many different ways as it will help prepare the students for dress codes in their chosen professions in the world. Dress codes no matter how they are stated will always be under attack on the basis of several different aspects when someone feels that they are being singled out unfairly or just when they do not want to follow the rules.“Uniforms may provide a better solution to the problems of violence and academic performance than dress codes because uniforms will not suffer from the same Achilles' Heels that dress codes do.” (Killen, 2000). There are many times that the dress codes are infringing on different
rights of the students and those do need to be changed but if we get rid of the dress codes all together and institute uniforms that will change things.
Many other cases have gone to court; there is no definite agreement as to what the court system or school districts say about school uniforms. Some cases are for school uniforms, others are not. This particular topic may never have a consensus with everyone involved although we may find that with many different studies that have been conducted we may have more information to choose from for ourselves. Some studies have said that school uniforms do not help with a person's socioeconomic status ”the gap between the haves and have-nots with school uniforms is fruitless because students will continue to alienate others according to their dress but in a more abstruse manner.” (Caruso, 1996).
Once we know more about the topic and the studies that have been conducted we can then decide how we want to proceed when it comes to this topic.
The Findings There have been many different studies over the years trying desperately to find the answers to many questions that are brought to the front of people's minds when it comes to school uniforms. “However, studies of large datasets and meta-analyses fail to find a link between uniform and academic achievement.” (Reidy, 2021). There are many things that need to be considered when talking about school uniforms and I have found some wonderful articles and studies that were conducted that I feel help prove how beneficial they are. Studies have shown that there is a decrease in the amount of teasing and bullying that takes place in the school as a result of clothing and socioeconomic statuses. (Perceptions of School Uniforms in Relation to Socioeconomic Statuses, n.). This also has contributed to the students having a more positive attitude towards school uniforms as a whole. (Woo et al., 2020). The students also said that they felt an increased sense of impartiality. Overall the students who participated in the study said that on a whole the uniforms had a positive effect on them and their experiences. Finally, stated in the various articles have found that “the mutual assurance stemming from easy identification of ingroup members could prompt the development of reciprocal
The Achilles’ Heel of Dress Codes: The Definition of Proper Attire in Public
Schools
Lee, S. Y., Ito, T., Kubota, K., & Ohtake, F. (2021). Reciprocal and prosocial
tendencies cultivated by childhood school experiences: School uniforms and the related economic and political factors in Japan. International Journal of Educational Development, 83 , 102396. doi/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.
Perceptions of School Uniforms in Relation to Socioeconomic Statuses. (n.).
Taylor & Francis. tandfonline/doi/full/10.1080/19404476.2020.
ProCon. (2022, June 21). History of School Uniforms | ProCon. School
Uniforms. school-uniforms.procon/history-of-school-uniforms/
Reidy, J. (2021). Reviewing School Uniform through a Public Health Lens:
Evidence about the Impacts of School Uniform on Education and Health. Public Health Reviews, 42. doi/10.3389/phrs.2021.
Woo, J. M., Tam, C. L., Bonn, G. B., & Tagg, B. (2020). Student, Teacher, and
School Counselor Perceptions of National School Uniforms in Malaysia. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. doi/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.
Cultural Identifiers Topic Essay Amanda Powell
Course: Child Development Including Health, Safety, and Nutrition (ECS-235)
University: Grand Canyon University
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