In my search to break out into other fields of education this is becoming even more important. Schools are happy to look at my past experiences in the classrooms, but NGO's want to see proof of my success in hard numbers. What do I know and how can I prove it?
Though I enjoyed my research and statistics class immensely in grad school, I haven't revisited the practice since. I have based my teaching techniques on the research of others but have not conducted my own.
Not for lack of ideas. Daily life in the classroom is apt to land one possible research topic after another directly in your lap. Lately I have been confronted with my ideas about school uniforms and equitable gender access, both topics of personal interest and relative to my current job searches.
My observations about school uniforms remain purely abstract, unfounded and rest in the realm of supposition. They are not scientific yet, because, at this point, too many variables prevent me from drawing conclusions. If straight science is on the far right, than my blog is on the far left and that makes it the perfect place to wander out loud through my wonderings about school uniforms and the impact it has on student teacher relationships.
There is no shortage of research available on the relationship between uniforms and academic success, uniforms and behavior, uniforms and attendance and even uniforms and overall school climate. Most of the research linked here is from the US, but a specific search for Africa and uniforms yielded slightly different results.
In the case of looking at relationships between uniforms and education in Africa, topics geer more towards uniforms effictively barring students from accessing education and therefore, what effect giving uniforms to students might have. I can attest to my own experience as a parent and how the need for uniforms contributed to a delayed start of school for my children.
I haven't arrived at an opinion about them however. I have fond memories of my own early years in Catholic school and the uniforms we were required to wear. Consistent with the findings, I experienced a sense of belonging and community. Putting on my uniform may have set me apart from the public school kids, but it did reinforce that I was part of a group....all the other kids wearing the same green jumper and white shirt. Plus, my uniform was cozy. I liked to wear it long and I can recall the feel of it against my legs and the weight of it warming me up on winter days. I never contemplated why I had to wear a dress or what it would be like to pick out my own attire each morning. (Though I admit to waiting for the bus and enviously eyeing the boys' long pants on some of the nippier winter mornings.)
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| Mostly I loved my uniform. Ours was green with knee socks and I never had one of those snazzy matching headbands, but I was just as happy as these girls. |
I realized during one recreation that I don't feel as if I know my students as well as I usually do. This is partly due to the fact that most of them are native French speakers and they are simply different people in English. Not completely of course, but just enough to make a difference. I also realized I missed little clues about their personalities because they were all dressed the same. I immediately began to scour the playground in search of ways students had found to individualize their uniforms.
Some had bracelets or watches, some wore sweaters or colored t shirts underneath. A few boys opted for pants although official the elementary uniform is shorts for boys and skorts for girls. I determined small bits of style, but I think it was mostly due to the way they moved, or whether they chose to eat their snack first or try to play and eat. I saw differences in the way they spoke to each other and whether they preferred to play with children from a different grade or opposite gender. I noticed those who choose to run around and those who choose to sit and talk.
Perhaps the uniforms had forced me to be more observant? I could easily imagine the opposite however. If I were not diligent, the uniforms could lull me into seeing only the white and the beige and not necessarily the individual beneath the color. I might miss signs of something awry at home or changes in behavior if I become quelled into seeing only masses of boys versus girls.
So much for my foray into scientific discovery. I am no closer to understanding the effect of uniforms on student teacher relations, but at least I have become aware that there could be an effect. Awareness is always the first step.
