Single School Uniform and Equity: Institutional Experience in a Public School in Medellín
PDF (Spanish)

Keywords

educational inclusion
gender equity.
school uniform
democratic participation
school culture

How to Cite

Tello-Zuluaga, J., Ochoa Londoño, E. D., & Rodríguez Bermúdez, M. (2025). Panorama, 19(37). Single School Uniform and Equity: Institutional Experience in a Public School in Medellín. https://doi.org/10.15765/s5nywf04

Abstract

This article presents the results of an institutional experience developed at the San Francisco de Asis School in Medellin (Colombia), aimed at analyzing the pedagogical, social, and cultural feasibility of implementing a single school uniform with a gender and equity approach, as an institutional strategy to promote inclusion, democratic participation, and school justice. The study was conducted using a quantitative descriptive approach, through structured surveys applied to 599 parents or guardians, 119 students, and 30 teachers. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistical techniques. The results revealed broad support for the proposal: 96.7% of the teaching staff, 67.8% of parents or guardians, and 62.2% of students expressed agreement with the change. The most frequently cited reasons included the elimination of gender distinctions, reduction in family costs, comfort for physical activity, and the strengthening of institutional belonging. It is concluded that the implementation of a single school uniform is not only feasible, but also represents a strategy aligned with the principles of equity, gender perspective, sustainability, and democratic participation, enabling progress toward a more inclusive, dignified, and just educational model for all children

PDF (Spanish)

References

Brown, A. (2025). Centring LGBT learners: A qualitative study of affirmative care and support in South African secondary schools. Revista Internacional de Educación Inclusiva, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2025.2512957

Burakauskaitė, I., & Čiginas, A. (2023). An approach to integrating a non-probability sample in the population census. Mathematics, 11(8), 1782. https://doi.org/10.3390/math11081782

Cha, J., & Galle, L. (2024). The influence of ‘hidden’ costs of school uniforms for refugee students in Kenya. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 54(8), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2024.2429834

Chero-Pacheco, V. (2024). Población y muestra. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Dentistry, 17(2), 66–66. https://doi.org/10.4067/s2452-55882024000200066

Congreso de la República de Colombia. (1991). Constitución Política de Colombia. Recuperado de https://www.constitucioncolombia.com

Congreso de la República de Colombia. (1994). Ley 115 de 1994, por la cual se expide la Ley General de Educación. Ministerio de Educación Nacional. Recuperado de https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1621/articles-85906_archivo_pdf.pdf

Congreso de la República de Colombia. (2008). Ley 1257 de 2008, por medio de la cual se dictan normas de sensibilización, prevención y sanción de violencia y discriminación contra las mujeres. Policía Nacional. Recuperado de https://www.policia.gov.co/sites/default/files/descargables/ley_1257_de_2008.pdf

Congreso de la República de Colombia. (2013). Ley 1620 de 2013, por la cual se crea el Sistema Nacional de Convivencia Escolar y Formación para el Ejercicio de los Derechos Humanos, la Educación para la Sexualidad y la Prevención y Mitigación de la Violencia Escolar. Función Pública. Recuperado de https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=52287

Cristi-Montero, C., Solis-Urra, P., Sanchez-Martinez, J., Olivares-Arancibia, J., Hernández-Jaña, S., Gajardo-Araya, G., Palma-Leal, X., Sadarangani, K., Portela Estinto, M., Encina, Y., Alvarez, C., Delgado-Floody, P., Aguilar-Farias, N., Ferrari, G., Mahecha-Matsudo, S., Zavala-Crichton, J.P., Ibarra-Mora, J., Parra-Saldías, M., Nanjarí-Miranda, R., & Rodríguez-Rodríguez, F. (2022). Which one? A comparative study of traditional and sports uniforms on academic achievement, cognitive performance, playtime, bullying, and discrimination in adolescents: The Cogni-Action Project. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 917970. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.917970

Cumming-Potvin, W. (2023). The politics of school dress codes and uniform policies: Towards gender diversity and gender equity in schools. International Journal of Educational Research, 122(102239), 102239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102239

Delgado, E., Ocampo, L. M., & Robayo, A. D. (2023). Clothing as an element of identity and a trend of self-completion in generation Z in Colombia. In Sabatini, N., Sádaba, T., Tosi, A., Neri, V., Cantoni, L. (Eds.), Fashion communication in the digital age (pp. 188–203). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38541-4_18

Guatemal Cadena, H., & Taco Chasi, V. A. (2023). Diseño y validación de un cuestionario para medir la convivencia, conflictos y participación estudiantil: un enfoque integral en las instituciones educativas. LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.56712/latam.v4i4.1287

Kuteesa, K. N., Akpuokwe, C. U., & Udeh, C. A. (2024). Gender equity in education: Addressing challenges and promoting opportunities for Social Empowerment. International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, 6(4), 631–641. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijarss.v6i4.1034

Ministerio de Educación Pública de Costa Rica. (2023). I censo nacional de tecnologías digitales en educación. Fascículo 2: Recolección y análisis de datos. Recuperado de https://www.mep.go.cr/sites/default/files/2023-10/censo-fasciculo-2.pdf

Miksza, P., Shaw, J. T., Kapalka Richerme, L., Hash, P. M., Hodges, D. A., & Cassidy Parker, E. (2023). Quantitative descriptive and correlational research. In Music Education Research (pp. 241–262). Oxford University PressNew York. 10.1093/oso/9780197639757.003.0012

Monteiro, R. (2024). Resistências institucionais e antigénero á igualdade de género na educação em Portugal. Cadernos de Pesquisas, 54. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980531411410

Nkya, H., & Kibona, I. (2024). Systematic literature review of gender equity and social inclusion in primary education for teachers in Tanzania: assessing status and future directions. Discover Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00221-8

Or, M. H., & Berkovich, I. (2023). Participative decision making in schools in individualist and collectivist cultures: The micro-politics behind distributed leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 51(3), 533–553. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432211001364

República de Colombia. (2011). Decreto 4798 de 2011, por el cual se reglamenta parcialmente la Ley 1257 de 2008. Función Pública. Recuperado de https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=45066

Remache, M. G., Rosero Ponce, N. V., & Cóndor Quimbita, B. H. (2023). Estrategias educativas en la solución de conflictos escolares en adolescentes. Revista Complutense de Educación, 34(3), 701–716. https://doi.org/10.5209/rced.80036

Ryan, M., Ricardo, L. I. C., Nathan, N., Hofmann, R., & van Sluijs, E. (2024). Are school uniforms associated with gender inequalities in physical activity? A pooled analysis of population-level data from 135 countries/regions. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 13(4), 590–598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2024.02.003

Sabando Rojas, D. S., Torrado Fonseca, M., & Puigdellívol Aguadé, I. (2024). Diseño y validación del Cuestionario del Perfil Inclusivo de Centros de Educación Primaria. Revista de Investigación Educativa, 42(2). https://doi.org/10.6018/rie.560201

Sanfo, J.-B. M. B., & Malgoubri, I. (2023). Teaching quality and student learning achievements in Ethiopian primary education: How effective is instructional quality in closing socioeconomic learning achievement inequalities? International Journal of Educational Development, 99, 102759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102759

Tello-Zuluaga, J., Ochoa Londoño, E., & Herrera Pérez, J. (2023). Procesos de educación inclusiva en una institución educativa oficial. Revista Virtual Universidad Católica del Norte, 70, 55-88. https://doi.org/10.35575/rvucn.n70a4

Tello-Zuluaga, J., & Uribe-Zapata, A. (2025). Instrumentos de evaluación de actitudes docentes frente a la educación inclusiva: Una revisión sistemática. Cultura Educación Sociedad, 16(1), e5782. https://doi.org/10.17981/cultedusoc.16.1.2025.5782

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2025 Panorama

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.