In today's public secondary schools, administrators face challenges that prior generations never anticipated, one of which is the T-shirt conundrum. The T-shirts that students wear to class contain all sorts of messages and images, many of which administrators may well consider inappropriate. This article is intended to help beleaguered educators…

University researchers face a significant obstacle when studying schools: their lives as researchers began in schools. How can researchers enter the contemporary high school and see the movement of bodies through those halls as something other than a confirmation or rejection of their own schooling experiences? What special intellectual and…

The concept of gender stereotypes permeates the lives of youth in the United States. This article provides background information and rationale for incorporating gender stereotype analysis into family and consumer sciences (FCS) coursework. The critical analysis of gender stereotypes includes numerous activities and assessments that encourage…

What are the features of the school environment that make students' of color incorporation greater at some schools than at others? Prudence L. Carter seeks to answer this basic but bedeviling question through a rich comparative analysis of the organizational and group dynamics in eight schools located within four cities in the United States and…

This article discusses some basic principles that can guide principals' decisions on when and how to regulate student dress. Like many school issues, implementing a dress code or uniform policy involves both the constitutional rights of students and the responsibilities of school officials. As a result, with dress codes and many other concerns,…

In an era where some parents seem unwilling or unable to draw the "clothes" line with their children, where pop culture influences kids' clothing choices as never before, and school safety--including gang violence--is at the top of everyone's minds, school uniforms and dress codes can play a significant role. What that role should be,…

In this article I explore the gendered assumptions in the new generation of dress codes that have swept through North American schools in response to how girls are dressing these days. Through a feminist poststructural examination of a particular case in Langley, British Columbia, I locate three contradictory discourses in one school's dress code…

Does clothing make the person or does the person make the clothing? How does what attire a student wears to school affect their academic achievement? In 1996, President Clinton cited examples of school violence and discipline issues that might have been avoided had the students been wearing uniforms ("School uniforms: Prevention or suppression?").…

Madeline Smith, a new elementary principal in northeastern Pennsylvania, wrestles with how to handle a dilemma involving one of her special education teachers who is wearing a head wrap while working. Wearing the head wrap is a violation of district policy, and if the head wrap is a religious symbol, then the employee is also violating the state…

Some readers will recall Newhart, Bob Newhart's television series from 1982 to 1990. In it, he played Dick Ludon, a New Yorker who moved to Vermont with his wife to run an inn. Stephanie Vanderkellen, a snotty, rich, young woman, worked there as a maid to appease her parents. Her boyfriend, Michael, was not rich but was as snobbish as she was.…

Shortly after implementing a mandatory school uniform policy, the Long Beach (California) Public Schools can boast 99% compliance and a substantial reduction in school crime. The uniforms can't be confused with gang colors, save parents money, and help identify outsiders. A sidebar lists ingredients for a mandatory uniform policy. (MLH)

Addresses clothing-related behavioral problems for public school children and the increasing use of dress codes and uniform policies as preventive measures. It describes dress-related conflicts for black public school students and parents across socialization and contextual settings. The implications of preventive policies and practices are…

A Tucson principal learned that denial and traditional administrative strategies cannot mitigate evolving gang activity. He recommends that school leaders use respect; provide relevant programs; establish a zero-tolerance policy for weapons, drugs, and violence; create parent patrols; keep video records; regulate attire; welcome police; support…

From kindergarten to college, transgender and gender-nonconforming students face many challenges in school and classroom settings. The 2003 School Climate Survey, conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, shows that more than 25% of transgender students reported experiencing verbal or physical harassment because of their gender…

One of the challenges facing school systems is creating an effective student handbook of current school policies. This report reviews the literature concerning federal and state statutes, district policies, and the professional literature concerning the implementation of a school wide discipline policy and plan that can be codified in a handbook.…