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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 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 & Ireland however, where the majority of state schools adopt a uniform for a more formal look.

Contents 1 School dress codes vs. school uniforms 2 Use according to country 2.1 Australia 2.2 Canada 2.3 Germany 2.4 Japan 2.5 Malaysia 2.6 Malta 2.7 New Zealand 2.8 Philippines 2.9 South Korea 2.10 United Kingdom 2.11 United States 2.12 Taiwan 3 References 4 External links

[edit] School dress codes vs. school uniforms

School dress codes dictate what can't be worn by any student, such as sheer or midriff-baring blouses, clothing with ads for tobacco or alcohol, or low-rider jeans. A school uniform policy generally dictates what must be worn by all students, such as solid color polo shirts in school colors in American public elementary schools with a uniform policy.

[edit] Use according to country

[edit] Australia

In the late 1990s, the education ombudsman for the state of Queensland ruled that public schools in that state may not punish students for refusing to wear a uniform. [1] This is among the few official rulings that specifically prohibit mandatory public school uniforms in any country in recent years. Despite this, public schools nowadays in all Australian states mostly have a compulsory uniform.

Many Private Schools have a uniform, based on British school uniforms, and for boys this is mostly a shirt, tie and trousers. For girls this uniform usually does not consist of pants or shorts, but either a skirt or dress. Pants for girls are only worn for sport.

In most private schools students are not allowed out of school in their Sports Uniform, and they are definitely not allowed to wear it on public transport. Many private schools have a blazer, but the School Committee can choose whether they want to make it compulsory or not.

[edit] 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. llll

[edit] 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.

[edit] Japan

Image:Japanese school uniform dsc06051.jpg

Main article Japanese school uniform

[edit] 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).

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Philippines

School uniforms are common in Philippine schools for both Elementary, High School and some colleges. Usually, a normal school uniform in Philippines are white polo with either long or short sleeves and slocks for boys and white blouse with either long or short sleeves also, a ribbon or necktie and pleated skirts for girls. The color of skirts and slocks are either khaki, black or blue. The skirts for girls are usually long, for about 3-4 inches below the knee, while the shortest is 2 inches before the lower knee.

In 1970s and 80s, school uniforms are usually long sleeved polo and a neck-tie with black slocks for boys, while short or long sleeved blouse with a ribbon and a pleated blue skirt for girls. In that time, the skirts are usually short, for about 1/2 inches after the upper knee or shorter, while the longest are 1 inch before the lower knee. Due to the growing cases of rape and murder, the school uniform code for girls slowly changed until the late 1990s, and make the school uniform skirts longer than before.

[edit] South Korea

Every South Korean student who are in the secondary education course wears uniforms - called "교복"(校服, Gyobock). The uniforms are differ from the school.

Uniforms were introduced in the early years of the 20th century.

[edit] United Kingdom

Uniforms are extremely common in schools in the United Kingdom. Virtually all public, state and secular schools have a uniform of some kind or have a strict dress code. Uniform is typically worn from year 1 (4-5 years old) 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.

• An example of a typical British secondary school uniform dress code is as follows:
  • School blazer
  • Plain white or blue shirt
  • School tie
  • Black or navy trousers or skirt
  • Gray, white, dark blue or black socks
  • Plain black shoes
  • Black or navy v-neck pullover, or black pullover with the school crest
  • Outer clothing of a sober design

• The PE kit often consists of:
  • School polo shirt
  • Blue, black, red, green or white shorts
  • Trainers
  • Gym skirt (female pupils)
  • Athletic Briefs (female pupils)
  • Leotard (female pupils)

In addition to this, many schools (both public 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.

During the 1990s a trend toward sweatshirts and polo shirts with the school crest spread throughout schools in the UK, notably in Primary schools but, increasingly, in Secondary schools. 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. 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.

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.

[edit] 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. [2] 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.

[edit] Taiwan

Most schools in Taiwan do not have school uniforms. Among the most famous is that of Taipei First Girls' High School, which is a dark green blouse and black skirt, a contrast from the more typical light colored shirts and blouses of other schools. This originated from the school's location adjacent to the Presidential Palace, necessitating colors that would camouflage with the environment in the event of air raid. The color scheme has remained into modern times out of tradition.

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

• Those disgusting school uniforms
• Mississippi Teacher Corps Focus Paper on School Uniforms
• mufti days defined
• Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Abuse, and Academic Achievementde:Schuluniform

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