School uniform and dress codes are increasingly controversial in the United States of America in relation to the binaries they set up between genders, races and socio-economic classes (Edwards and Marshall, 2018). In Scotland it is generally accepted that school pupils will either wear a prescribed uniform or follow a school dress code. The underlying discourse is that this helps with ethos, discipline and achievement. Other arguments for school uniform include the prevention or reduction of bullying, theft, gang violence and the mitigation of inequalities (the level playing field argument) by minimising the difference between varying socio-economic backgrounds that a common uniform or dress code may provide. This research project sought to understand the reasons that schools in Scotland give for requiring a school uniform to be worn and how school policies and guidelines position young people at school.
The difference between a school uniform and a school dress code is understood as a school uniform being a set list of required items of clothing that must be worn in school as opposed to a dress code which specifies the types of clothing that must be worn and/or what is, or is not, acceptable (Edwards and Marshall, 2018).
While beginning from a rights-based approach, the theoretical framework for this research is on two levels, firstly drawing on the work of Foucault, in particular, Discipline and Punish (1975), and then on a second level using feminist critical policy analysis (FCPA). From a feminist perspective it has been argued that school dress codes are part of the discourse that girls are responsible for how others react to them (Raby, 2005; Pomerantz, 2007). The Foucauldian lens was used to understand how school uniform or dress codes are used to control and impose self-surveillance on pupils, and the feminist lens was used to explore how female pupils and their bodies are ‘othered’. The FCPA focus is not only to see where there are distinct differences but also to highlight prejudice or unconscious bias (Bensimon and Marshall, 2003). By using this framework, it is hoped to recognise how these policies create and recreate a gendered reality and future for both male and female pupils.
Therefore, this research sought to answer the following research questions:
- What reasons do schools in Scotland give for having, or not having, a school uniform?
- What control and surveillance can be interpreted from secondary school uniform policies?
While the requirement to wear a school uniform is not widespread across Europe, there will be private and/or international schools where it is a requirement and many schools will have dress code policies in which similar issues relating to gender will be apparent, for example the wearing of headscarves by young women in schools in France.
To begin with the justification for having a school uniform was considered. Then uniform policies were investigated to see if there were differences between the uniform for male and female pupils, for example was there a separate uniform list for boys and girls, was it stated that girls could wear trousers and shorts. Finally, each policy was re-read to see if there was any reference to pupils who are transitioning gender and how this would be dealt with under the uniform policy.