School Uniforms: New Materialist Perspectives (The Cultural and Social Foundations of Education)

This edited volume brings together a new materialist approach to understanding the various legacies and controls being exercised through school uniforms. Through examining school uniform policies, the editors and their authors highlight the embodied choices that contribute to a socio-materialist understanding of democracy and social justice. Uniform policy plays a distinct role in setting the culture of compulsory school education and as such it constitutes a set of under-theorised school practices. This work thus brings together critical perspectives from education, sociology, cultural and postcolonial studies within an overarching analysis of how uniform imposes performances that have a formative effect on young people’s identities and economic positionality. Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 8 List of Figures 15 Chapter 1: Introduction: The Threads of School Uniforms Woven in/with/through Countries 16 References 24 Chapter 2: ‘Matter Matters’: The Importance of the Material World and Tinythings 27 Introduction 27 (Uni)forming School Readiness 28 Reclaiming Identities 32 (Silent) Disruptors at Sites of Resistance 34 Turning to Notice Thingly Power 36 Thinking Differently 38 References 39 Chapter 3: ‘It doesn’t end at the cuffs’: The Discordant Discourse of Uniformed Performance in the Caribbean 44 Uniform as Colonial Export 45 Servitude Folded Within Fiction 47 Lived Experience of Unquestionable Ritualised Humiliation 49 Embodied Pride as Enduring African Heritage 51 Uniform Policy and Public Debate: Walking a Fine Line 55 Discussion as Grounding 57 References 59 Chapter 4: Intervening in School Uniform Debates: Making Equity Matter in England 62 Introduction 62 Background: Uniforms and the Mattering of Gender Equity 63 Starting Points: Policing Gender and Uniform 66 Moving Towards Intersectionality: Race, Sexuality, Class, Neurodiversity 69 From Discipline to Wellbeing and Educating 71 The Guidance: Substance and Reception 72 Policy into Practice, the Final Frontier? 74 Towards Conversations 75 References 76 Chapter 5: Pupil Participation in Secondary School Uniform Policies in Scotland 79 Introduction 79 Pupil Participation in the Assemblage of School Uniform Policy 82 What Influence Do Pupils Have on School Uniform Policies? 84 Involvement of Pupils in Deciding the School Uniform 88 Dialogue Between Parents and Schools About Uniform 88 Conclusion 89 References 91 Chapter 6: School Uniforms in Ireland: The Intersection of Religion, Class and Gender 93 The Irish School Uniform 94 National Government and School Governance 96 The Case of the Carlow Assemblies 98 Skirts and Trousers 101 To Finish... 104 References 107 Chapter 7: Students’ Appearance According to School Regulations: A Polish Case Study 111 Introduction 111 A Short History of Polish School Uniforms 113 Methodological Background 115 Results 115 Conclusion 124 References 125 Chapter 8: Why Do Girls Have to Wear Ties at School in the UK? 129 Introduction 129 What Clothes Do 130 History of Girls’ Uniform and School Ties 132 Study of Secondary School Uniform Policies in Scotland 133 The Taken-for-Grantedness of the School Tie 135 School Ties and Gender 136 What Do School Ties Do to Girls? 138 Conclusion 139 References 140 Chapter 9: Social Class and School Uniforms: A Zimbabwean Case 143 Introduction 143 Theoretical Framework 144 Linking Social Class and School Uniforms 145 The Zimbabwean Case: Pre-independence and Postcolonial Education Policies 146 Colonial Education Policies in Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe): Race, Ethnicity and Social Class as Determinants of Political Power 146 Postcolonial Education Policies in Zimbabwe: School Types, Curriculum Content and School Uniforms 148 Conclusion 152 References 152 Chapter 10: The Materiality and Materials of School Uniforms at a Local and Global Level 154 Introduction 154 Comfort with the Artefacts and Materials in School Uniforms 156 Measuring the Affordability of School Uniforms 159 Making School Uniform Sustainable 161 Conclusion 163 References 164 Chapter 11: Conclusion: Looking back to look forward 167 References 173 Index 175