A Curricular Critique of School Dress Codes. Issue 2 (3rd March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Whitman, Gretchen Marie
• Is Part Of: Clearing house. Volume 93:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 72
• Page End: 77
• Publication Date: 2020-03-03
• Subjects: Curriculum theory -- dress code -- student rights -- stereotypes; Education -- Periodicals; Junior high schools -- Periodicals; Education, Secondary -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 373.05
• DOI: 10.1080/00098655.2020.1721415
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-8655

Abstract

Abstract: The absence of comprehensive educational theory regarding dress codes results in deference to community norms as a way to determine implementation and compliance. Implementing dress codes ultimately results in inconsistent practices and violations of students' rights. To the detriment to student learning, dress codes disproportionately affect girls and students of color embodying them as sexualized and inferior. Females are treated like objects while males are assumed to be incapable of controlling their sexual desires. School dress codes have been adopted as a means of controlling student behavior without fully exploring the relationship between curriculum and virtue. The current inconsistent dress code policies in schools violate curriculum theorists' calls for a caring, democratic classroom environment. As part of the hidden curriculum in schools, dress codes serve to perpetuate oppression of females and minorities, thereby promoting the hegemony of the white male.