School uniform
School uniforms are common in elementary and secondary schools in many nations. They are the most widely known form of student uniform, other types of which include uniforms worn by students participating in higher vocational training, such as in health related occupations.
Traditionally, school uniforms have been subdued and professional. Boys' uniforms often consist of dark pants and light-colored shirt, tie plus a jacket in cold weather. A girl's might consist of a tie, a skirt,or a kilt, a dress and blouse. The gender-specific uniforms have been a point of contention, and some schools permit female students to choose either skirt or trousers. The use of a blazer or suit-like jacket has come into favour in some areas. Management of the school uniform program is an important task.
In continental Europe, uniforms have not been required in public (state-sponsored) schools. Private schools, though, often have a school uniform or a strict dress code. [citation needed] This is different in the United Kingdom and Ireland however, where the majority[1] of state schools adopt a uniform for a more formal look[citation needed].
School dress codes vs. school uniforms
School dress codes dictate what can't be worn by any student, such as sheer or midriff-baring tops, clothing that advertises tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs, and low-rise jeans. A school uniform policy generally dictates what must be worn by all the students, such as solid color polo shirts in school colors in American public elementary schools with a uniform policy.
Use according to country
Australia
Most private and public schools, in all Australian states, have a compulsory uniform policy. For boys, the uniforms generally include trousers, shorts, jumpers and a button-up shirt and/or t-shirt. Girls uniforms generally include skirts, dresses, jumpers, blouses and/or t-shirts and sometimes also trousers and shorts. Uniforms for either gender may also include a blazer, tie and hat. A different uniform specifically for sports is usually worn for physical education activities.
Private school uniforms are generally more formal and strictly enforced than public school uniforms. Most private school students are not allowed outside of school property in their sports uniform; private school students may be also punished if caught by a teacher or prefect wearing the school uniform incorrectly in a public place outside of school grounds, for example on public transport or in a shopping mall.
It is traditional for the Year 11 and Year 12s or just year 12s at an Australian private or public high school to wear jerseys known as senior jerseys, seniors' jerseys or leavers' jerseys, which are official uniform items worn exclusively by the students in the year levels concerned each year.
Canada
Many regions of Canada have publicly-funded Catholic schools, and many of those schools have uniforms. In recent years, some schools have eliminated skirts and kilts, in favour of dress pants for girls, or replaced skirts with the x-kilt, a garment that looks like a kilt from the outside, but has an attached shorts on the inside for modesty. Also, bicycle shorts are sometimes worn under skirts. The tops are either dress shirts or golf shirts, and either sweaters or sweatshirts are worn. Grey or khaki dress pants are worn by both boys and girls.
Germany
Although quite common in pre-WW II times, school uniforms fell almost totally out of favour as a long-term consequence of Nazism, as they were considered a symbol of militaristic thought.[verification needed] In the 80s and 90s, school uniforms were almost totally unknown. Recently, they have made a comeback at some schools, for their supposed positive effect on discipline and also to prevent brand name competition among children. However, those school uniforms that have been introduced would be considered marginal in most other countries, rarely consisting of more than a school shirt or sweater.
Japan
Malaysia
Malaysia introduced Western style school uniforms in the late 19th century during British colonial era until post-independence. Today, school uniforms are almost universal in the public and private school systems. The current Malaysian school uniforms are compulsory for all students.
The same school uniform is used in all public schools. Primary school uniform consists of white shirts and navy blue trousers or shorts (shorts are more common) for boys and a pinafore over a white shirt for girls. The secondary school uniform is slightly different with olive green trousers or shorts (trousers are more common) for boys and turquoise pinafores for girls. There may be different uniforms for school prefects and librarians, which varies according to schools. The school crest is normally sewn or ironed onto the left breast.
Some private schools adopt the same school uniform while others have their own (particularly international schools).
Malta
All schools in Malta require their students to wear school uniforms. These tend to follow the British example of skirt, blouse, school tie, blazer, dark tights and lace up shoes. Boys wear slacks and there are jumper dresses for the younger girls.
New Zealand
Traditionally, many New Zealand intermediate and high schools have followed the British system of school uniforms. This usually consists of a variety of the following apparel: an 'official' school jersey, jacket and tie, a grey/white shirt, pants and/or shorts, and, in many girls' schools, kilts. Blazers and jackets are of varied colours according to the school - dark or light blue, grey, crimson, scarlet, green or black. Some follow the British practice of having contrasting colours edging the lapels and jacket fronts. Caps or other headdresses have generally been discarded since the 1970s.
Being allowed to wear long trousers as part of the uniform, rather than shorts, often marks the transition from junior to senior classes. At some schools, seniors are allowed to wear mufti casual clothing. It is customary for many schools, especially boys schools to have long ("knee-high") socks in school colours worn with shorts.
During the 1980s and 1990s there was a tendency for the traditional uniform to be replaced by cheaper and more 'modern' options: polo shirts, polar fleece tops, or a complete doing away with uniforms in favour of mufti. This trend seems to have been reversed in recent years and only a small number of secondary schools have now abolished uniforms entirely.
Philippines
School uniforms are common in Philippine schools for both Elementary and High School, as well as a few colleges. For boys, a school uniform normally consists of a white shirt (some similar to the Barong Tagalog) with short sleeves and slacks of either khaki, black or blue. For girls, a uniform would be a white blouse with short sleeves, a ribbon, a necktie and a pleated skirt. The skirts for girls are usually long, usually ranging 3-4 inches below the knee, while the shortest is 2 inches before the lower knee.
In the 1970s and 80s, school uniforms were usually white long sleeved shirts and neckties with black slacks for boys, while short or long sleeved blouses with ribbon and blue pleated skirts for girls. During that time, the skirts were usually shorter, ranging from about half an inch after the upper knee or shorter, while the longest was 1 inch before the lower knee. Due to the growing cases of abuses, the school uniform code for girls slowly grew stricter until the late 1990s, when skirts were made much longer.
South Korea
All South Korean secondary education students wear uniforms called "교복"(校服, Gyobock), which differ from school to school.
Uniforms were introduced in the early years of the 20th century. [citation needed]
Now South Korean Uniforms are consider among teenage fashion because of how much the students spend their hours in their school uniform. The students consider their uniforms as part of their fashion and to show off their taste. South Korean School Uniforms has become very popular in Korean dramas. Chinese students have been looking at South Korean School uniform as fashion and gained interest in wanting to change their uniforms in to South Korean Uniforms
United Kingdom
Uniforms are extremely common in schools in the United Kingdom. Many private and state schools have a uniform of some kind or else have a strict dress code — 98% of state-run secondary schools require a uniform, as do 79% of primary schools.[2]
Uniform is typically worn through to year 11 (16 years old is the last year of compulsory education in the UK.) In many schools the sixth form (16-18 year olds) are also required to wear a uniform or to comply to a dress code, though this is sometimes more relaxed. This practice is more common for sixth form colleges which are attached directly to schools than for independent sixth form colleges. Further Education colleges (for age 16+) do not usually have a uniform.
- Typical British secondary school uniform dress code is as follows:
- The PE kit often consists of:
- School polo shirt with school crest or school logo
- Blue, black, red, green or white shorts depending on school uniform colour, sometimes with school logo or crest
- Trainers for children of any age. Pumps are sometimes worn by younger children
- Gym skirt or shorts with school logo (female pupils)
- Athletic Briefs (female pupils)
- Leotard (female pupils)
- White or black Socks
In addition to this, many schools (both private- and state-funded) have moderately strict rules on the wearing of make up, jewellery or 'trendy' clothing. It should be noted that most schools in the United Kingdom do not suffer the fairly common 'clothing cliques' found in countries where uniforms are not so prevalent. However children with cheap or poorly kept school uniform often become excluded.
Although never an official part of the uniform, the Snorkel Parka became extremely popular as a school winter jacket in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a relatively cheap jacket, affordable by most families and therefore in many schools at the time almost every boy would have one though they were less popular with girls. Although unpopular during the 1990s the Snorkel Parka is now becoming popular again, though nowhere near the popularity it gained in the early 1980s.
More recently, however, a trend toward wearing school sweatshirts and polo shirts, (as well as more casual styles of trousers, such as plain, dark-coloured jeans, cargo pants or tracksuit bottoms), has spread throughout 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 couldn't afford blazers, etc. Equally temperatures in classrooms have changed over the last 50 years in the United Kingdom due to both environmental reasons and also the introduction of central heating systems. This has in most schools made older uniforms such as thick jumpers, blazers and shirts highly impractical, especially in the summer months, prompting many schools to adopt more casual temperate uniforms. Still, in some cases, schools are re-introducing the blazer and tie in a bid to 'smarten up' their pupils and combat bullying.
In many secondary schools, girls have started to wear trousers instead of skirts as part of their uniform, but this depends on the school and the area. Particularly in sixth forms, 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' uniform often differs significantly from the boys' uniform.
In areas with large muslim populations many schools 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. For an important legal test case regarding pupils' rights to wear religious clothing at school, see Shabina Begum.
British night clubs often organise uniform theme parties where patrons are asked to wear adult versions of the uniform. This kind of use of children's clothing may be controversial in the context of a setting of heavy drinking and sexual behaviour. Angus Young from the Australian musical act AC/DC often wears his school uniform on stage.
United States
Most public schools in the United States do not require uniforms, though many 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. [3] 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 school uniforms (see below) for all levels of schooling. According to the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), the fraction of American public schools requiring school uniforms rose from three percent in 1997 to one in five (21%) in 2000.
School uniforms are fairly common for private schools in the United States, especially for Catholic schools. Although many private school uniforms are similar to the ones described below for public schools, a few still require more formal British-style school uniforms, such as blazers and ties. Culottes are also sometimes substituted for a skirt, especially at Episcopalian or non-parochial private schools.
In 1994, the Long Beach Unified School District, in Southern California, required school uniforms in all elementary and middle schools. This began a trend for uniforms in American elementary public schools, especially in urban school districts. President Clinton mentioned LBUSD's efforts in his 1996 State of the Union Address. The adoption of school or district-wide uniform policies (or, alternatively, "standardized dress codes" – which are not as rigid as school uniform requirements, but allow some leeway within set parameters) has been motivated by a need to counter "gang clothing" (or, in the alternative, the pressure for families to purchase upscale-label clothing to avoid their children being ignored by "fashion cliques"), as well as improve morale and school discipline.
References
- Should school uniforms be mandated in elementary schools?
- School Uniforms: The Raging Debate
- Long Beach Unified School District Uniform Initiative: A Prevention-Intervention Strategy for Urban Schools, The
- NAESP : >>Information and Resources: Public School Uniforms