Author : Kelly Dawn DeLong
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (47 download)
Book Synopsis The Effect of School Uniforms on Academic Performance and Behavioral Offenses by : Kelly Dawn DeLong
Download or read book The Effect of School Uniforms on Academic Performance and Behavioral Offenses written by Kelly Dawn DeLong and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: 'The objective of this study is to determine if academic performance and behavioral offenses are affected by wearing school uniforms in public elementary schools. To determine if the wearing of uniforms affects academic performance and behavioral offenses, permission from two elementary schools, in a large Midwestern city, was obtained to examine students' records. The records examined included fourth grade proficiency tests, and behavioral offenses. Behavioral records consisted of a number of offenses including absenteeism and tardiness. One elementary school required uniforms. The other elementary school did not. The records from years 1993- 1994 through 1996- 1997 for each school were compared. In the study, the presence or absence of uniforms was the independent variable and academic performance, as measured by, proficiency tests, and behavioral offenses were dependent variables. Data were obtained from the city school board data management center. Means and standard deviations were computed. Analysis of variance was used to determine if means differed significantly for scores between the two schools. Chi square test of independence was used to determine if the difference in frequency of behavioral offenses in the two schools was a chance occurrence. A Point Biserial Correlation Coefficient was computed to determine if there was a relationship between wearing uniforms and academic performance. A final ANOVA was computed to determine if the increase in test scores over time, from the school with uniforms, was significant. Throughout the study, significance levels of less than or equal to .05 were used. There was no contact with the students themselves. Results of the analysis of variance revealed that in the year prior to either school adopting uniforms, 1993-1994, there were no significant differences in test scores; neither was there a significant difference in test scores in 1996-1997. However, there was a significant difference in Reading, Mathematics, and Citizenship tests between the school with the uniforms and the school without the uniforms for the school years 1994-1995 and 1995-1996. Results of the Chi Square test of independence, to determine the pattern of behavior between the two schools, revealed that from 1993- 1994 through 1996- 1997, the school without the uniforms had more occurrences of disruptions of class, repeated violations of school rules, and gross insubordination than the school with the uniforms. However, the school with the uniforms had more occurrences of fighting than the school without the uniforms. For three out of the four years, the school without uniforms had a higher frequency of absenteeism and tardiness than the school with uniforms. A Point Biserial Correlation Coefficient was calculated to determine if there was a relationship between the wearing of uniforms and academic performance. Results indicated that there was a significant, but low negative correlation between wearing uniforms and test scores for the Reading, Mathematics and Citizenship tests. From the years 1994- 1 995 through 1 996- 1 997, the mean scores on two of the five tests increased in the school with uniforms, while the mean scores for students in the school without uniforms decreased consistently on all tests from 1994-1995 through 1996-1 997. Because there was an increase in scores for some tests in the school with uniforms, an ANOVA was calculated to determine if the increase in proficiency scores over time was significant. Results of the test indicate that the increase in proficiency scores for the Citizenship and Science tests were significant.
