Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the related literature and studies that we consider in our research that

this may contain local reading, gap to be bridged by the study this aims to expand our knowledge

provide us researchers to placing the proper context and to strengthen the importance of this study

based by specific evidences and articles.

INTRODUCTION

In a perfect world, public school students could express themselves through

clothing and symbols, free of state interference. But in a perfect world, students could

attend class without fear of violence or fear of disrupting the discipline of the learning

environment. Since we do not live in a perfect world, many school districts have

attempted to protect the learning environment by enacting dress codes.'The Achilles'

Heel of dress codes is the difficulty of defining proper attire in the classroom without

violating the basic constitutional rights of students. Like the mythic hero Achilles,

Dress codes suffer from several inherent weaknesses, such as being too vague, being

overbroad, not completely addressing the problems that they were created to solve, and
repeated litigation of similar issues throughout various jurisdictions.(Rob Killen; Tulsa LJ 36,

459, 2000) An individual's attire sends messages to those who view them (Damhorst,

1990), and the clothing choices made by teachers may influence students' perceptions

of the school (Workman & Freeburg, 2010). A majority of teacher dress codes require

formal clothing (Workman & Freeburg, 2010); however, agricultural education teachers

often work in educational environments that are more work-oriented than the traditional

classroom (Shoulders & Myers, 2012). This qualitative study explored students'

perceptions of their attire. Participants were shown an image of a teacher in attire

ranging from casual to formal and asked questions about the teacher's knowledge,

discipline, respect, and ability to relate to students.

While the general policy is that the wearing of a school uniform shall not be

required in public schools (as embodied in DepEd Order No. 45 s. 2008), it is

necessary to guide on what constitutes proper school attire. The following

principles should serve as a guide: 1.) A student’s basic right to go to school, study,

and learn is of paramount importance and should be respected and promoted at all

times. 2.) A student’s attire should reflect respect for the school as an institution for

learning. 3.) A student’s attire should not become a cause for discrimination, particularly

for students belonging to a lower socio-economic status. 4.) Promoting physical

hygiene and proper school etiquette is part of the teaching-learning process in schools,

thus a student’s attire and physical appearance should manifest learnings from this
process. Given the above principles, the suggested attire for elementary and secondary

students may be: For Boys – Polo shirt/T-shirt with sleeves – any plain color, with a

minimum of prints Pants (long or short) – any color Footwear – any For Girls – Dress,

skirt and blouse, blouse and pants – any color, any print footwear any for students with

existing uniforms, they can still continue wearing them if they so desire. Students are

discouraged from wearing expensive (signature or designer brands) or flashy clothes,

tight-fitting pants/blouses/dresses, mini-skirts, short shorts, blouses with plunging

necklines, hip-hop pants for boys, and sleepwear.

References.

DepED Order: (No. 45, s. 2008) Allotment: 1—(D. O. 50-97) To be indicated in the

Perpetual Index under the following subjects: POLICY PUPILS SCHOOLS STUDENTS

UNIFORMS

DO_s2008_046

RECENT DEPED ORDERS

FEBRUARY 19, 2024 DO 003, S. 2024 – Amendment to DepEd Order No. 022, s
 2023 (Implementing Guidelines on the School Calendar and Activities for the

School Year 2023–2024)

JANUARY 26, 2024 DO 002, S. 2024 – Immediate Removal of Administrative

Tasks of Public School Teachers

JANUARY 15, 2024 DO 001, S. 2024 – Revocation of DepEd Order No. 023, s.

2023 (Assumption of Authority of the Department of Education Over the 14 Public

Schools Affected by the Supreme Court Decision in G.R. No. 235316) Pursuant to

the Memorandum of Agreement Between the City of Makati, the City of Taguig,

and the Department of Education

RECENT DEPED MEMORANDA

FEBRUARY 2, 2024 DM 008, S. 2024 – Administration of the 2023 Regular

Philippine Educational Placement Test

FEBRUARY 2, 2024 DM 007, S. 2024 – 2023 National Schools Press

Conference Results

JANUARY 31, 2024 DM 006, S. 2024 – Reiteration of the Freedom of Information

Memorandum Circular No. 21-05 Otherwise Known as the No Wrong Door

Policy for FOI
 Foreign Literature

Mandatory public school uniform practice has been the primary focus in the

recent educational policy of both developed and developing countries. Proponents of

such reform emphasize the advantages and disadvantages of student uniforms on

specific behavioral and academic outcomes. School uniforms are supposed to help

stop issues of cliques, prevent gangs from forming and help students concentrate on

their studies. Enabling a dress code helps to boost the students' etiquette and

Marks. Numerous school districts have embraced school uniforms as an innovative

step to add to safety and reduce aberration in schools. The consequence of school

uniforms allowed added security, a reduction in peer pressure, and an overall

decline in diversion. Students should be ignorant of social evils like money and the

class system, and this is what school uniforms focus on. This research thesis

examined the impact of school uniforms on student behavior, investigated the effect

of school uniforms on student attendance, and examined the effect of school

uniforms on student's achievement and attendance. (Odisha: A Case Study of

Sundargarh District").

Local Studies
 Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara

Duterte's pronouncements on July 18 making school uniforms optional for the school

year 2022 to 2023 earned mixed reactions from social media users. Duterte said

that making uniforms non-mandatory is meant to ease the financial burden on

students' families impacted by "increasing prices and economic losses" due to the

COVID-19 pandemic. She added that learners were also not required to wear

school uniforms before the pandemic, pertaining to DepEd Order No. 065, 5. 2010

The order states that school uniforms shall not be required in public schools, but

"students with existing uniforms may continue using these uniforms, if they so desire, to

avoid incurring additional costs for new attire."

Foreign Studies

Over the years, there have been lots of studies conducted probing the
effects of wearing school uniforms on students' behavior, academic performance, and
school environment. Some of the findings were presented to substantiate and
establish the very purpose of the conduct of this present study. (Kouzmine 2019),
in her commentary, enumerated several reasons as to why school uniform is a bad
thing. According to her, school uniform limits students' personal expression, and
feelings of discomfort, it forces conformity and discourages diversity, an additional
burden to parents since it can be costly to buy such. Similarly, Cook (n.d.) listed
reasons why school uniforms are not advisable since it generally mean additional
costs, refute individual expressions, promote bullying and violence, and others. The
study (Jones, 2018) concluded that school uniforms may positively affect the
school's climate which provides equal opportunity for students from different walks of

life. His study further claims that bullying among students, and conflict between
parents and their children will be lessened through school uniforms. This assertion
indeed offers delightful information for school situations, however, conflicts and
bullying incidences are still becoming prevalent in this research's locale which made
the researchers dig more into the said issue.

Sempele, Wamalwa, and Kisilu (2014) revealed that learners' feeling of being

equal to their fellow students which resulted in higher self-esteem is attributed to school

uniforms. They added that having school uniforms positively affects learners since they

become less concerned on their differences in appearance and what others might think

of them. If the school, where students spend more of their time, promotes a climate

where self-esteem is nurtured and appearance differences is not an issue will surely be

able to make students learn more and perform better. Perhaps, having a school uniform

means that a student will not have to worry about peer pressure when it comes to their

clothes. When everyone dressed the same, worrying about what you look like isn't

important. For others this is not important, it's up on you if you follow the school uniform
policy as long as you are comfortable in what you wear.

Factors like students' behavior, test performance, and attendance were

positively affected by wearing school uniforms in a public school. Specifically, wearing of

school uniforms promotes equality or denounces differences among students from

various societal classes. Students also become more disciplined when they are in

their prescribed uniform which further results in being academically focused, thus,

improving their academic performance (Agarwal, 2015).