Dress and appearance constitute the visual realm in the dialectic of identity construction and are powerful communicators in this process, since dress and appearance are the symbolic means by which we locate ourselves and others through interaction within social contexts. Dress is used to differentiate and create boundaries for group belonging and exclusion, and in the uniform has been understood to have a capacity to suppress individuality and to identify the wearer with objectives beyond the self. Adolescence is a time of intense identity work and in New Zealand coincides with secondary schooling during which school uniforms are usually worn. Is freedom in dress necessary for development of personal identity?
The effects of same-dressing on identity development in adolescence were investigated in the context of the history, practice, and meanings of school uniform in New Zealand secondary schools. This was investigated through a nationwide survey, analysis of selected school photographs and records, interviews with students, review of legal and bureaucratic structures supporting the practice, and review of the literature of school uniforms, and education and social history of New Zealand. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods contributed to analysis of both dress practices in wider New Zealand contexts, and more personal use of dress in the formation of personal identity. Analysis of school uniforms as mechanisms of power, constituting both the student and the self, drew on symbolic interactionist theory and on Foucault�s later interpretations of power, while also linking material culture and social structures.
New Zealand has a strong and continuing tradition of school uniform in secondary schools, yet this practice is characterised by change, variety, and differences, challenging the sameness which uniforms are supposed to embody. Meanings and functions of uniforms have changed considerably over the twentieth century, evolving through extreme and diverse expressions of the expectations of social, political, and education systems towards their young people, and mediated in turn by students themselves. While school uniforms both manifest and mediate the power of the school over the bodies of children, the power embodied in uniforms is not always and only a repressive power, but is also a generative, productive power. Students described uniforms as a form of shelter and protection, embodying belonging and participation in the school and a projected future of success and engagement in adult society and work. Uniforms also maintained a breadth of possibilities consistent with a fluid class system and egalitarian ideals of New Zealand society.
While students believed self-expression essential for the formation of a self, they believed this need could be met through the use of minor differences in uniforms, while uniforms allowed them to retain the advantages of group belonging. Schools allowing some personal expression effectively strengthened the sense of belonging and participation, by maintaining the individual in positive relation to the group. The interaction that creates a self consists in symbols, involving meanings, appearances, and communication: differences and similarities from part of these complex interactions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/266406 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Webster, Elaine Irene, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. Department of Clothing and Textile Sciences |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Elaine Irene Webster |
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