Proposal on School Uniforms

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Yeung’s proposal of school uniforms show how many districts have agreed to propose and require school uniforms. Proponents argue that uniforms can make schools safer and also improve school attendance and increase student achievement. (Yeung, 2009). The results proposed do not merely suggest that there is significant association between uniform policies and achievement. If it means that the school rooms will be more orderly and more disciplined and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside, instead of what they’re wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms. (Yeung,2009). In this quasi-experiment, a pre and post test found that elementary school students in both the urban and rural school district experienced significant gains in achievement the first year after the implementation of a school uniform policy, as measured by number of reading test scores. The National Center for Education Statistics followed a wave of students from kindergarten until they were in the 5th grade. In the each round of collection, children were assessed and information was collected from their parents. The school’s teachers and staff were also surveyed at different times of the study. As a result there were some consistency throughout the years. The only significant difference in this study was that in the 1st grade the average achievement for students in schools requiring uniforms was less than the average achievement for schools that do not require uniforms. (Yeung, 2009). There is little significance that uniforms improve achievement in school.

The literature review shows how there has been similar research on this topic and if so almost exactly the same concept as the hypothesis proposed in this reading. The literature review provided that there is a significant positive effect because of school uniforms. Although it is not clear on how significant the difference is between achievement in schools with uniforms and those with not at least there is a dramatic shifts of factors as the students age. In the article proposed by Yeung, he states that the quasi-experiment used showed some valuable point of how achievement can be affected. Yeung’s proposal states how they followed a group of students from when they were young until they got to middle and high school. In Tozan’s research although it was an analysis experiment it did show a positive effect on uniforms but it did not pertain to any academic or non-cognitive factors such a self-esteem, attendance or behavior. It had a positive view when it was protecting the students from a mosquito infection. All 5 literature reviews do have in fact a positive outlook on the safety of the children and the safety on school grounds. Hidalgo’s experiment showed how the effect of uniforms made a difference on student’s attendance, which shows that if a student comes to class and actually interacts in the classroom it can lead to a difference in academic achievement.

The purpose and the importance of this proposal topic of school uniforms are because school uniforms have been the upcoming dress code in many different districts. As stated in the literature review, the outcome of school uniforms tends to always have a positive effect. This proposal could have a factor on showing a greater significance of how school uniforms helps achieve high academic scores. This proposal is about how Public school students who wear uniforms will achieve higher academic scores than students in a public school who do not wear uniforms. The objective of this research is to see if the independent variable of academic scores depends on the dependent variable of the school uniforms distributed in that specific district. The discovery expected to find in this research is the significance difference of scores from school with uniforms and schools without, while following a group of students throughout every grad level.

Part 2

To prove the hypothesis that uniforms have an effect on higher academic scores, a experiment will be done by studying a sample of middle school students, starting at grade six in a public school and following them until they graduate high school which is grade 12. The quantitative variable that would be measured is the student’s academic achievement scores. For this research, 20 students, 10 boys and 10 girls, who have started wearing uniforms at the age of 10 (before middle school) will be selected to be followed and studied. The students will be from a public school district and wearing uniforms. The students who wear the uniforms are the control group and the experimental groups in this research are 20 students from the same public school district who do not wear uniforms. As the control group there will be 20 students, 10 boys and 10 girls and will be analyzed and followed from grade six through grade 12. The sample size justification is collecting qualitative variables such as, academic scores and grades. The data would be measured through ordinal data, which of course shows the highest and lowest academic scores. The data collected will be discrete in integers and there is only one independent variable, which are the scores of the student. The students will be repeatedly tested every year and will be compared to the group of students who do not wear uniforms.

In the beginning of this research, the students in grade six both uniform wearers and non-uniform wearers will take a test before the academic school year starts. That will determine the beginning data of how well knowledgeable they are. They will be test again in December at the end of the second quarter and lastly test in June at the end of the fourth quarter. The first year they will be test three times. From grades seven to 12 they will only be tested twice in December and June. The test will consist of anything they have learned within the first two quarters and the last two quarters. Test scores will be compared to the scores of the students who do not wear uniforms.

Consent considerations in this proposal is that the participants and their parents give consent to be part of this long research throughout the student’s academic careers. Both the parents and students are fully informed about the procedures and the collective data after the research. The participants and parents know that all data and scores are confidential as well the participant’s identification in the study. Deception will be to a minimum in this study as information and data in this study will not be misleading or withholding information from the participants or their parents and guardians. Another ethical consideration is the protection from harm of the students. The student’s safety on school grounds is important. This study does