Symbolic Clothing In Schools

The issue of symbolic clothing has always been prevalent in schools. This title looks at various incidents from France, England, Canada and the United States to examine how symbolic clothing has been addressed in education policy and practice, and by larger government policy. Dress codes and uniform policies have been enforced with great discrepancy in schools. A notable example is the banning of all 'ostentatious' religious symbols in public institutions in France. "Symbolic Clothing in Schools" looks to the debate surrounding social, political and religious clothing in schools - any piece of dress that significantly forms a part of a person's identity, including headscarves, veils, t-shirt slogans and gang-identifiers. It will be of key interest to those caught up in the debate such as teachers, headteachers, students and policy makers, as well as anyone with a keen interest in how such clothing has been addressed in education policy and practice. Dianne Gereluk looks to incidents in France, England, Canada and the United States, and provides principles that should assist in setting some general parameters that might be acceptable to all.