BEHIND THE SEAMS: UNVEILING SOCIAL INJUSTICES IN A SCHOOL’S ENFORCEMENT OF PRESCRIBED DRESS RULES

Abstract

Research on school drop-out rates in democratic South Africa cites school uniforms among the predominant causes of high school children, from impoverished contexts, dropping out of school. In light of this finding, this paper offers a critical examination of a school’s uniform rules against South Africa’s National Schools Uniform policy. Research data presented and discussed in this paper is drawn from a small scale case study, conducted in a working class South African school. Hermeneutics provided the analytical lens through which data were analysed. Critical theory offered a theoretical framework for data interpretation. The findings unearth social injustices which have become embedded in the schools dress code, when the national uniform policies were translated into school rules by a school’s leadership. The findings cannot be generalized to other schools. However, they do provide some insight into how children from impoverished backgrounds may be unfairly labelled, unjustly treated and possibly drop out of school, on account of the biased way in which a schools dress code expectations are decided on and enforced by a school’s leadership. Keywords: School Uniforms, Democratic Policies, Working-class schools, Subjective Dress Codes, Insensitive Dress Rules.