Religious and cultural dress at school : a comparative perspective

This article investigates and compares the different approaches towards the dress code of learners in South Africa and the United States of America (US), as the US mainly base litigation concerning school dress code on their freedom of speech / expression clause, while similar South African court ca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPotchefstroom electronic law journal Vol. 14; no. 6; pp. 62 - 95
Main Authors De Waal, E., Russo, C.J., Mestry, R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published North-West University 01.01.2011
Subjects
Academic discipline
Comparative analysis
Comparison with the United States of America
Cultural behaviour
Cultural dress
Education policy
Freedom of religion
Human rights
Learners' rights
Religious dress
School discipline
South Africa
Supreme Court
U.S.A
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Summary:This article investigates and compares the different approaches towards the dress code of learners in South Africa and the United States of America (US), as the US mainly base litigation concerning school dress code on their freedom of speech / expression clause, while similar South African court cases focus more on religious and cultural freedom. In South Africa, school principals and School Governing Bodies are in dire need of clear guidelines on how to respect and honour the constitutionally entrenched right to all of the different religions and cultures. The crisis of values in education arises from the disparity between the value system espoused by the school and the community, and that expressed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which guarantees learners' fundamental rights, including those of freedom of religion, culture, expression and human dignity. On the one hand, the South African Schools Act requires of School Governing Bodies to develop and implement a Code of Conduct for learners, and on the other, that they strictly adhere to the Constitution of the country when drawing up their dress codes. The right of a religious group to practise its religion or of a cultural group to respect and sustain its culture must be consistent with the provisions of the Bill of Rights (which is entrenched in the Constitution) and this implies that other rights may not infringe on the right to freedom of religion and culture.
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ISSN:1727-3781
1727-3781