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Download This is a sample script for hosting an event. and more Cheat Sheet Public Health in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Policy Notes About Dress Codes and School Uniforms* One of the rationales for policies mandating dress codes and school uniforms is the belief that such policies help enhance a safer environment for learning. Researchers report findings for and against this rationale; however, most studies have focused on the impact on school academic performances and not enhanced safety. Given an inadequate research base for such policies, decisions tend to rest on the power and persuasiveness of proponents and opponents with some guidance from court cases. Major points made by proponents include the claim that dress codes and school uniforms help • reduce discipline problems and on campus gang formation • protect students from clothing that includes hateful messages or promotes drug and alcohol use • enhance a positive school climate (e.g., a sense of belonging, unity, and school pride) • decrease pressure to buy “trendy” clothes and reduce signs of economic and social differences among students • identify intruders on campus There are also claims that academic performance and attendance are improved. Opponents assert that dress codes and school uniforms • violate freedom of expression, promote conformity, and negatively effect self-image • do little to enhance school safety and worse make students targets (e.g., for bullies from other schools; for sexual advances from those who find classic school uniforms sexually seductive) • are a financial burden for poor families and a expense that is inconsistent with a tax- based free public education • are an added enforcement problem for school staff • can be sexist (e.g., require girls to wear skirts) • take attention away from making fundamental school improvements Dress codes often ban clothes that have images or writing. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that attempts to protect students from clothing that conveys a political message about drug and alcohol use or uses hateful speech violates a student’s right to free speech. With respect to uniforms, litigation has raised issues about free speech, costs, and more. Decisions have been mixed. Available data suggest that uniforms are mandated in about a quarter of all elementary schools and about half that many middle and high schools. Consensus is that the difference is due to the resistance of older students and many parents to dress codes. According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ data from U.S. public schools: • In 2013-14,, about 20 percent of schools mandated uniforms; this was up from about 12 percent in 1999-2000. • Schools with a minority student population of 50% or more are four times as likely to require uniforms than schools with a minority population of 20-49%, and 24 times more likely than schools with minority populations of 5%-19%. • Around $1 billion per year is spent on school uniforms. It is noteworthy that there are proposals to establish dress codes for teachers. *The material in this document reflects work done by Ciara Martin as part of her involvement with the national Center for MH in Schools and Student/Learning Supports at UCLA. The center is co-directed by Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor in the Dept. of Psychology, UCLA, Website: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu Send comments to ltaylor@ucla.edu 2 Some Research The following are reported by Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/education/school-uniforms-research-student-achievement-behavior >Dressed for Success? The Effect of School Uniforms on Student Achievement and Behavior Gentile, E., & Imberman, S.A. (2012). Journal of Urban Economics, 71, 1-17. http://www.nber.org/papers/w17337 Abstract: Uniform use in public schools is rising, but we know little about how they affect students. Using a unique dataset from a large urban school district in the southwest United States, we assess how uniforms affect behavior, achievement and other outcomes. Each school in the district determines adoption independently, providing variation over schools and time. By including student and school fixed-effects we find evidence that uniform adoption improves attendance in secondary grades, while in elementary schools they generate large increases in teacher retention. >Are School Uniforms a Good Fit? Results from the ECLS-K and the NELS. Yeung, R. (2009). Educational Policy, 23, 847-874. http://journals.sagepub.com/ Abstract: One of the most common proposals put forth for reform of the American system of education is to require school uniforms. Proponents argue that uniforms can make schools safer and also improve school attendance and increase student achievement. Opponents contend that uniforms have not been proven to work and may be an infringement on the freedom of speech of young people. Within an econometric framework, this study examines the effect of school uniforms on student achievement. It tackles methodological challenges through the use of a value-added functional form and the use of multiple data sets. The results do not suggest any significant association between school uniform policies and achievement. Although the results do not definitely support or reject either side of the uniform argument, they do strongly intimate that uniforms are not the solution to all of American education’s ills. >Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement. Brunsma, D.L, & Rockquemore, K.A. (1998). Journal of Educational Research, 92, 53-62. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220679809597575 Abstract: Mandatory uniform policies have been the focus of recent discourse on public school reform. Proponents of such reform measures emphasize the benefits of student uniforms on specific behavioral and academic outcomes. Tenth-grade data from The National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 was used to test empirically the claims made by uniform advocates. The findings indicate that student uniforms have no direct effect on substance use, behavioral problems, or attendance. Contrary to current discourse, the authors found a negative effect of uniforms on student academic achievement. Uniform policies may indirectly affect school environment and student outcomes by providing a visible and public symbol of commitment to school improvement and reform. cont.