Gender and School Uniform: A Case Study in fairness and equity

Do the stakeholders (executive, parents and teaching staff) believe that students in private schools who are required to wear a formal school uniform able to access school resources equally? Do they participate equally in school life and is the financial outlay for a formal school uniform equitable for boys and girls?
Many private school students are compelled to wear a school uniform that causes a variety of issues for all students but especially for the female students. The research undertaken for this thesis adopts a stakeholder perspective on the experiences of students who wear a formal school uniform with a particular focus on whether inequities are evident. Themes that were addressed in the research were cost, comfort, access to resources and discipline. Data were collected via interviews with key stakeholders and a qualitative approach was used for analysis. A number of themes that key stakeholders found significant regarding formal school uniform were identified. Key findings exposed themes which included girls being less comfortable than boys in their uniform, girls having less access to school resources, school uniform is seen as an outdated relic from a bygone era, and that formal school uniform encourages pride in appearance and promotes the school in a positive light.
The main findings were that girls are found to be less comfortable and are less likely to access playground resources. The uniform for girls is more expensive and girls are found to endure more discipline as a result of not wearing the formal uniform correctly. The implications for the research are that schools need to look carefully at the style of uniform they impose on students. Schools may be encouraged to investigate alternative uniforms which have a more unisex design, incorporating more contemporary fabrics. To do so may liberate teachers from spending valuable time on addressing uniform issues and ensure financial equity for parents. If schools take on the findings of this research, students may also be able to play freely and access resources equally, doing so in comfort.