School uniform

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Students in Bangkok

Over one thousand students in uniform during an assembly at a secondary school in Singapore.

Student in School Uniform

School uniforms are common in primary and secondary schools in many nations. They are the most widely known form of student uniform; other types include uniforms worn by students participating in higher vocational training, such as in health occupations.

Traditionally, school uniforms have been subdued and professional. Boys' uniforms often consist of dark trousers and light-colored shirt, often with a tie. Girls' uniforms vary greatly between countries and schooling systems, but typically consist of a dress or a blouse worn either with a skirt or culottes or under a pinafore. Gender-specific uniforms have been a point of contention, with some schools permitting female students to choose either skirts or trousers while still requiring male students to wear trousers. The use of a blazer or suit-like jacket for either gender is also fairly common, especially in cold weather.

Use according to country

Australia

Photograph of the front of an Australian Year 12 school uniform top, taken in 2005

Students of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney in uniform, 1950

School uniforms in Australia have traditionally followed the model of their British counterparts. Most private and government schools, in all Australian states, have a compulsory uniform policy, though the degree of enforcement varies. For boys, the uniforms generally include a button-up shirt and/or polo shirt together with either short trousers (especially for summer wear) or long trousers. Where short trousers are to be worn, long school socks are often required. Girls' uniforms generally include skirts, culottes, dresses, jumpers, blouses and/or poloshirts and sometimes also trousers and shorts. At Private schools, uniforms for either gender often include a blazer, tie and hat. A different uniform specifically for sports is usually worn for physical education activities. These can include skin tight leggings, shorts, tennis skirts/netball skirts. While some schools require special shoes to be worn, particularly for specific activities and outings, others allow students to attend barefoot, particularly in primary schools. The uniform in the picture on the right is from a public school.

Government schools, especially primary schools, in Australia tend to be more flexible with the way the school uniforms are worn. In contrast, most private schools are strict when regarding presentation of the school uniform. In recent times Year 12 students at some Australian schools have been allowed to wear special jumpers (Leavers Jumpers) or printed tops to denote their final-year status. In some schools this has taken the form of a different coloured jumper (sometimes white or cream), or a special commemorative year-12 top (e.g. a rugby top) with the last two digits of the year and a name or nickname displayed (shown at right). Alternatively, tops are sometimes printed with the names of all students in that year level.^[1] Some schools also have different ties or blazers for senior years.

China

Uniforms are a common part of the schools in China. Most students are required to wear a full uniform or parts of the uniform from elementary school all the way to highschool. Uniforms in mainland China usually consist of two sets, one for summer and the other for winter. Uniforms for boys in the winter usually consist of a zip up sweater and pants, and a collared shirt (usually white) with shorts or pants. The uniforms for girls in the winter are basically the same as the boys' uniform. However, the summer uniform for girls consist not only of a collared shirt and pants, they also have the option of a skirt. A red scarf is a mandatory part of every school's uniform, or a school pin in the summer.

Israel

According to former Education Minister Limor Livnat, about 1,400 Israeli public schools require pupils to wear uniforms.^[2]

School uniforms used to be the norm in Israel in the state's early days, but have since fallen out of favour. However, in recent years, the number of schools using school uniforms has been increasing once more. Many teachers, parents and students are in favour of returning the school uniform to common use to prevent the deepening of the gap between affluent children and those less well-off. Nowadays school uniforms are mainly associated with schools belonging to the national religious school system, which is separated from secular Jewish schools.^[3] Arab Israeli schools also frequently require uniforms: for girls, it is often a pinafore to be worn over trousers and shirt.

Today, school uniforms in Israel consist only of a shirt with the school logo. In the summer, the uniform shirt is a simple T-shirt, while in the winter, the shirts worn are warm or hooded sweaters. Although the shirts are uniform, they usually come in various colours, and allow students to customize and express themselves even while wearing a uniform. The shirts sell for a very small amount of money, so that even those who do not have a lot of money can acquire them.

Italy

In Italy, school uniforms are uncommon, partially because child uniforms are associated to the Fascist era, when children were placed according to their age into Fascist youth movements and had to wear uniforms inside and outside schools.

However, until the early 1970s many high schools required girls to wear black grembiule (resembling a doctor smock) on top of their clothes: no uniform was required for boys. Perhaps this was because at one time high schools were the only public schools to be co-ed (as opposed to junior schools and elementary), and girls may be required to "cover up" not to distract their male counterparts. Indeed this policy was highly disputed during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and later abolished.

Nowadays, many pre-schools advise parents to dress their children with a grembiulino, i.e. a small grembiule, usually shorter and more colourful, that can be purchased cheaply.

Some elementary schools advise some kind of grembiule for the younger pupils. Sometimes girls are required to wear a pink or white grembiulino, while boys may be required to wear a short cotton jacket, usually blue or black. In other cases both boys and girls may be required to wear a more neutral blue grembiule.

Some parents send their children to school in a grembiule even if the school does not require it.

Poet and children's writer Gianni Rodari used to describe adult life as "a school without grembiule and school desk".^[4]

In 2004 the Italian chapter of WWF warned that synthetic grembiules were harmful to pupils.^[5]

In July 2008 Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini proposed the re-introduction of grembiule in public schools, provoking a debate in the Italian press.^[6]

Japan

See Japanese school uniform.

Malaysia

Malaysia introduced British-style school uniforms in the late 19th century during the colonial era. Today, school uniforms are almost universal in the public and private school systems. The current Malaysian school uniforms are compulsory for all students attending public schools. The uniforms at Malaysian public schools are as follows:^[7]

Malaysian primary school girls wearing the pinafore

A Malaysian secondary school class photo. All but one of the girls sitting in the front row are wearing the baju kurung

• Primary school
  • Boys
    • White shirt and
      • Navy blue short trousers; or
      • Navy blue long trousers
  • Girls
    • Navy blue pinafore over white shirt; or
    • White baju kurung (a long tunic that covers the arms) over long navy blue skirt

• Secondary school
  • Boys
    • White shirt and
      • Olive green short trousers; or
      • Olive green long trousers; or
      • White trousers (generally only for Form 6 students)
  • Girls
    • Turquoise pinafore over white shirt (Form 1 to Form 5); or
    • Turquoise skirt with white blouse (generally only for Form 6 students); or
    • White baju kurung (a long tunic that covers the arms) over long turqouise skirt (Form 1 to Form 6)

As to the choice between long or short trousers for boys, in recent times it has become more common for Muslim boys to wear long trousers, especially at secondary level. Chinese or Indian boys still wear short trousers in the first couple of years of secondary at some schools.

Students are required to wear white socks and white shoes with the above uniform. For modesty reasons as well, most schools require female students who wear the baju kurung to wear a plain-coloured camisole underneath^{[8][9][10][11]}.

In addition to these, schools usually have their own school badges which must be sewn or ironed on to the uniform - generally at the left chest. Some schools also require students to sew their name tags in addition to the school badge. For upper forms, students generally have to wear a school-specific tie, except those who are wearing the baju kurung.

In Malaysia, Muslim girls tend to wear the baju kurung. Most of them start wearing a white tudung (Malaysian version of the muslim headscarf or hijab) upon entering secondary school, for religious reasons. Non-Muslim girls tend to wear the pinafore. Some non-Muslim girls also wear baju kurung, and some Muslim girls wear the pinafore. This crossover is quite common, and is usually due to the girls wanting more variety in their choice of uniform, level of comfort, or wanting to blend in or stand out with the more commonly worn uniform in their school.

Muslim boys may wear Baju Melayu at school on Fridays, often with a songkok hat, so as to be dressed for going to the mosque for prayers at lunchtime.

Girls who choose to wear the pinafore, especially those attending co-ed schools, also usually wear shorts under their pinafore to allow for carefree movement as the skirt of the pinafore only covers up to the knee. Those who wear the baju kurung tend not to wear shorts under their long skirt as their long skirt already covers their legs.^{[citation needed]}

Public schools also have their own authority to set special school uniforms for prefects, class monitors, librarians and as such, there are many varieties of them depending on schools.

Neckties are often worn by prefects, class monitors, librarians, and other students of rank. Some schools have neckties as standard issue, but even then, the neckties are generally reserved for school events and public appearances, and are not part of the everyday school uniform, the tropical climate making them uncomfortable.

The hairstyle of students is also given attention by schools and the Ministry of Education^[12]. Schools do not allow students to colour their hair. For boys, there is usually a maximum length of hair allowed, for example, the hair must be a few centimetres above the collar, and no sideburns are allowed. Violation of boys' hair regulations is often punished with a caning but some schools offer the alternative of an enforced haircut at the school.^[13] The use of hair gel is prohibited in some of the stricter schools, in order to prevent excessive hairdressing. For girls with long hair, their hair must be properly tied up, often into a ponytail. Some schools dictate the colour and type of hair accessories that can be used. Some prohibit even girls from having long hair. Wearing make up in school is prohibited.

Schools usually enforce their school uniform code thoroughly, with regular checks by teachers and prefects. Students who fail to comply may be warned, given demerit points, publicly punished, sent home from school, or caned^[14].

Private schools

Most Malaysian private schools have their own school uniform, and this varies from school to school. Private primary schools generally have uniforms identical to those of the public system. Most private secondary schools, however, have their own school uniform. Today, many private schools have their students wear polo shirts in the school colours, and girls wear skirts instead of pinafores. The "baju kurung" is also accepted.

Kindergarten

There is no set uniform in kindergartens as they are privately owned. Each kindergarten might have different uniforms or allow free choice of clothing.

The uniform in most Malaysian kindergartens is the sailor uniform. These schools also tend to have a sports uniform. The remainder have uniforms identical to that of the public primary school uniform.

Singapore

Singapore has some of the most distinctive school uniforms anywhere. Uniform is absolutely compulsory for all students, not only at primary and secondary school but even at the pre-university (Junior College) level. Uniform requirements are laid down in great detail by each school and these are rigorously enforced. Colours and styles for shirts or blouses, and for trousers or skirts, are tightly specified, and in some cases the shirt or blouse must have military-style epaulettes, and/or a metal badge on each collar, and so on. Some schools, most famously Raffles Institution, have a 100% all-white uniform. Because of the tropical climate, blazers and ties are worn only for special occasions. It is therefore the boy's shirt or girl's blouse, rather than a blazer as in the UK, on to which the school badge must be sewn. Nearly all schools require white socks and white shoes.

At almost all secondary schools, boys are not permitted to wear long trousers until they start secondary 3 (normally the year in which a student turns 15, but in certain cases he might be a year or even two years older). In a few schools, the year of changing from shorts to longs is secondary 4; and in one or two, such as Catholic High School, male students must wear short pants throughout their time at the school.

United Kingdom

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Many British primary and secondary schools require pupils to wear uniforms, but further education colleges and some school sixth-forms (for age 16+) do not usually have a uniform.^{[citation needed]}

Schools vary widely on how prescriptive uniform is, and how much the wearing of it is enforced.

Over the last ten years a trend towards wearing school sweatshirts and polo shirts or t-shirts, (as well as more casual styles of trousers, such as plain, dark-coloured jeans, cargo pants or tracksuit bottoms), has been observed in many schools in the UK. This was seen as a way to modernise the uniform as well as make it more affordable to lower-income families who could not afford blazers, etc. Equally, temperatures in classrooms have changed over the last 50 years in the United Kingdom due to the introduction of central heating systems. This has, in some schools, made older uniforms, such as thick jumpers and blazers, seem impractical, especially in the summer months, prompting the adoption of more casual uniforms.

Nevertheless, there are still many schools of all kinds that retain (or even have reintroduced) the traditional blazer and tie in a bid to 'smarten up' their pupils and to combat bullying. Typical is a dark blazer in a specified colour (often but by no means always black) with the school's badge (with coat of arms or logo) sewn on to the left chest pocket. Trousers and skirts will also be of a specified colour, typically grey. If a tie is to be worn, it is usually of the school's special design, often with coloured stripes. Boys nowadays usually wear long trousers at secondary school, and in some cases even at primary school. Until the early 1970s it was common for boys to be in brief short trousers with long socks, until age 13 or 14. This is now found only at a few elite traditional private schools, and even there the shorts are nowadays much longer and baggier than was normal in the 1960s and 1970s.

In most state schools, girls can wear trousers instead of skirts as part of their uniform. Particularly in sixth-forms which have uniforms, the tailored shorts that are now in fashion in the UK are being permitted during the summer months. Unlike in the United States there is no law forcing gender-impartial uniforms. As a result, especially in privately funded schools, the girls' and boys' uniforms often differ significantly from each other.

In areas of substantial minority-culture population, notably some inner cities, schools may allow female pupils to wear religiously-appropriate clothing, often in the school's typical uniform colours. Depending on the level of religious observance of the pupil, and the school's willingness to permit non-regulation clothing, this can sometimes cause difficulties.

United States

Students in a Houston, Texas public high school wearing school uniforms

Few state schools in the United States have formal school uniforms, but some have dress codes regulating student attire. Dress codes usually include limits on skirt length and skin exposure. They generally include prohibitions on clothing with tears or holes, exposure of undergarments, and anything that is obscene, gang-related, or unsafe. Some school dress codes specify the types of tops (e.g. collared) and bottoms (e.g. khaki) that are allowed, as well as specific colors (often the school colors). In recent years there has been a significant increase in dress codes (see below) for all levels of schooling. In most cases, while regulations vary greatly, a general idea of what is typically permitted includes^[15]

• Trousers
• Capri Pants
• Collared shirts (types vary significantly)
• Turtleneck
• Sweater
• Shorts
• Skirts
• Skorts
• Jumper dresses
• Culottes
• Tights
• Knee Socks
• Leggings
• Bike Shorts which are like short leggings or tights
• Flat soled shoes or dress sneakers like Keds school days, Mary Jane, ballet flats, Sperry Top-Sider, etc.
• Headband
• Scrunchie
• Tennis Dress

According to the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), the fraction of American public schools requiring some sort of "uniform" rose from 3% in 1997 to 21% in 2000.

Efficiency

The efficacy of uniforms, in improving academic performance and student attitudes, is often debated.

A study published in The Journal of Education Research by David L. Brunsma, of the University of Alabama, and Kerry A. Rockquemore, of the University of Notre Dame,^[16][17] states:

"The findings indicate that student uniforms have no direct effect on substance use, behavioral problems, or attendance. A negative effect of uniforms on student academic achievement was found."

In Vivian Gussin Paley's book, White Teacher, she discusses the need to embrace differences, not ignore them. Aristotle recognized this too. He held school in a plaza and encouraged students to look beyond themselves and at the world, people, and environment around them. ^[18]

Laws and rulings against school uniforms

In the Australian state of Queensland, Ombudsman Fred Albietz ruled in 1998 that public schools may not require uniforms.^[19]

In 2006, a new Education Act was passed within Queensland, Australia. This Act gives school staff within the public education system the power to assign punishment for non-compliance with school uniform dress code. According to the Act, students may not be suspended or expelled for non-compliance with the dress code. Punishment consists of one only of the following three choices for each non-compliance: 1. Detention. 2. Exclusion from any activity that is a non-essential part of the school's education program. 3. Exclusion from any activity where the student will be representing the school.

In the Philippines, the Department of Education abolished the requirement of school uniforms in public schools per DepEd Order No. 45, s. 2008. However, a school attire was required under DepEd Order No. 46, s. 2008. The following were "suggested" as proper school attire in the latter order: Polo shirt or t-shirt with sleeves and pants for males; dresses, skirt and blouse or blouse and pants for females.^[20]

In the United Kingdom, technically a state school may not permanently exclude students for "breaching school uniform policy", under a policy promulgated by the Department for Children, Schools and Families but students not wearing the correct uniform are asked to go home and change. If the school took religious and cultural beliefs into account when designing the uniform and a student still refuses to wear it, legal proceedings may be brought against the parents for not bringing their child to school. ^[21]

In the United States, a few states have regulations declaring that public schools must allow students to drop out of uniform policies. Although Section 83 of the Massachusetts Legislature appears to prohibit dress codes in public schools by declaring that schools may not "abridge the rights of students as to personal dress and appearance" [1], Section 86 states that "The provisions of sections eighty-three to eighty-five, inclusive, shall apply only to cities and towns which accept the same" [2] and other sections of the law allow schools to impose dress codes, and in fact many public schools in Massachusetts (mostly in the Boston area) have mandatory school uniforms [3].

In 1969, the United States Supreme Court ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District affirmed students' rights to free expression in public schools, although this related to the wearing of a black armband (not to uniforms as such). California Education Code 48907 affirms students' rights to "the wearing of buttons, badges, and other insignia" as well freedom of speech in student publications, subject to limited restrictions.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: School uniform

• Should school uniforms be mandated in elementary schools?
• Long Beach Unified School District Uniform Initiative: A Prevention-Intervention Strategy for Urban Schools, The
• NAESP : >>Information and Resources: Public School Uniforms
• What's in a school uniform? BBC
• School Uniform
• Vicki Marsha Oldest Uniform Producer in the USA