Problem Sheet 1: Research Method
The research topic will focus on the school uniforms. The paper will examine what effect the school uniforms have on student academic achievements.
The specific method that seems appropriate to use is an experiment. There will be a qualitative method used. Descriptive quality measure with focusing on the attitudes of students will be analyzed and interpreted. My hypothesis will be broad, with the whole picture in mind and type of research will be explored. The information will be gathered with participant observation and document analysis of previous researches made in this area. Measurement will be also used by the comparison of test scores achieve among those that wear a uniforms and the others that do not. One group will wear uniform and the other the clothes they want. Their behavior will be observed and their academic achievement to see whether the wearing the uniforms affect the achievement in school.
Problem Sheet 2: The Research Question
1. My (restated) research problem is:
My research problem will focus on determining what effect the wearing of uniforms has on the academic achievement. There were many researches done so far with different methods. The research question can help to solve the controversial topic with various different opinions. The topic is interesting to search since for many researchers so far have come to different conclusions with using were different methods. The topic has been dividing the public, some are for others against. The effects of uniforms for students remain unclear.
2. My research questions are:
Does wearing a school uniform improve the academic achievement of the students?
How are the variables of wearing a uniform and academic achievement correlated?
3. The following are key terms in the problem or question that are not clear and thus need to be defined:
a. academic achievement,
b. school uniform
4. Here are my constitutive definitions of these terms
a. In the academic achievement, attendance and great grades are included. “The definition of academic achievement refers to the level of schooling you have successfully completed and the ability to attain success in your studies.” (Your Dictionary, n.d.)
b. School uniform is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as: “special clothes worn by pupils at a particular school.”
5. Here are my operational definitions of these terms:
Academic success will be measured by rate of attendance and the grades achieved in the school
6. My rationale/justification for investigating this problem (why it is important to investigate, 2-3 paragraphs with citation from the literature)
The topic has been under researched in the United States even though some schools have obligatory dressing codes with using the school uniforms. The topic has a great importance for policy makers and for the whole society. The effects of the uniforms on the students and their academic achievements remain unclear. The uniforms are possible determinant of student’s future employment and social success, which is all connected with the academic achievement (Gentile & Scot, 2012).
The Bodine (2003) pointed out that many research made and being widely cited are incorrect interpreted by the authors and use various mistakes and false predictions under which unfounded claims about the correlation of school uniforms and academic achievement are being made. The claims about the negative effect of the uniforms on the achievement were based on unfounded claims and with the help of the internet the misleading researches are easy to be found. There is not enough responsibility among the research community and the claims have been just repeated without conducting an analysis (Bodine, 2003).
Problem Sheet3: Review of the Literature
My research problem is:
The effect of the school uniform on academic achievement
My research questions are:
Does wearing a school uniform improve the academic achievement of the students?
How are the variables of wearing a uniform and academic achievement correlated?
1. What are specific problems or questions to be addressed in your literature review?
The question to be addressed in my literature review are which sources to use, how to find the right background, what areas of the topic regarding the school uniforms has been conducted so far. The literature review will focus on the explaining why the topic is important and what are the core issues surrounding the controversial topic.
2. What general reference tools did you use to conduct your research (electronic databases consulted?)
The use of WSU Library, National Bureau of Economic Research, ProQuest, EBSCHO host and Taylor & Francis Online
3. What search term did you use:
a. consequences of wearing the school uniforms, d. research about school uniforms,
b. effects of school uniforms on the climate, e. pros and cons of school uniforms,
c. school uniforms and academic achievement, f. consequence of wearing school uniform
4. Specify the scope of the review and explain your inclusion (exclusion criteria (what was and what was not included and why?)
I used the sources that prove to have similar research questions and were dealing with the issue of the effects of school uniforms. I included the ones that were the most important and relevant to the research topic. Inclusion of academic research and academic sources and exclusion of magazine articles, newspaper articles and scholarly that were not done by the professionals or researchers. The criteria were therefore type of research by choosing only the academic and peer reviewed journals, availability of the source, and the usage of sources that had the latest publishing dates. The reason is professional writing is more objective and based on more scientific research and data. The articles and books published have more weight in the scientific circle. The latest data was used because the social phenomenon is constantly changing and they involve previous as temporary finding in them.
5. What topics and subtopics emerged about your problem and questions as you conducted your research?
There are various subtopics that should be examined along with the effect of the school uniforms. There are also other advantages and disadvantages of wearing the school uniforms and there is no globally accepted consensus about the connection between greater academic success and wearing of school uniforms. The school climate, discipline, socioeconomic factors, respect, equality, balance and togetherness should be researched along with the stated research topic. Also the effect of preoccupation about looks and clothes could be researched to see if the uniforms can have an effect also outside the classroom.
6. What are your conclusions based on the findings of your review?
My conclusion based on the review of the literature is that the topic need to be further researched. There are many unknown factors within the correlation between school uniforms and academic achievements. The research done so far have found many different conclusions and some have been wrong interpreted which lead to the wrong conclusions and perceptions in the wider public. The reason to research the topic is even more evident in the light of the possible consequences result of the experiment can have on the educational policy and academic achievement in the whole nation.
7. List of 5 references of articles (peer reviews journals)
Bodine, Ann. (2003). School Uniforms, Academic Achievement, and Uses of Research. The Journal of Education Research. Volume 97 issue 2. Retrieved http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2382/doi/pdf/10.1080/00220670309597509
Brunsma, L. David, Rockquemore, A. Kerry. (1998). Effects of Student Uniform on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement. Journal of Education Research. Retrieved from http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2156/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=933e35ef-ab09- 4466-ab97-5f7bdfaf3707%40sessionmgr4003&vid=1&hid=4201
Gentile, Elisabetta, Scott, A. Imberman, Scott. (2012). "Dressed for Success? The Effect of School Uniforms on Student Achievement and Behavior," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier. Retrieved http://www.nber.org/papers/w17337.pdf
Ryan, Yeung. (2009). Are School Uniform a God Fit? Educational policy. Retrieved from http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2182/docview/61832804/59338440B3924F89PQ/5?a ccountid=14902
Thompson, W. Marry-Holland. (2008). Revisiting School Uniforms. The Educational Forum. Retrieved http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2382/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131729908984438
Additional references:
Oxford Dictionary. (n.d.). School Uniform. Retrieved http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/school-uniform
