Opinions of Teachers and Students on Free Dress Code Applications

Calismanin amaci; okullarda serbest kiyafet uygulamasinin ogrenciler ve ogretmenler acisindan degerlendirilmesidir. Calisma alani olarak; Gaziantep ve Kilis illerinde Tabakali Orneklem Secimi yontemiyle belirlenen ve sosyoekonomik duzeylere gore siniflandirilan bazi lise ve ortaokullar secilmistir. Toplamda 10 adet lise ile 15 adet ortaokul seviyesindeki egitim kurumlarindan secilmis olan 500 ogrenciden veri toplanmistir. Ayrica bu okullarda calisan 25 ogretmenin uygulamaya yonelik goruslerine basvurulmustur. Bu amacla; ogrenciler icin bir olcek ve bir anket kullanilmis; ogretmenler icin de yari yapilandirilmis gorusme formu duzenlenmistir. Arastirma modeli olarak ise nicel ve nitel arastirma yontemleri birlikte kullanilmistir. Nicel kisimda tarama, nitel kisimda durum calismasi yontemi kullanilmistir. Calisma sonucunda ogrencilerin, okullarda serbest kiyafet uygulamasina gecilmesi yonunde alinan kararin; okullarda guvenlik zafiyeti doguracagina, okul harcamalarini (ekonomik boyut) arttiracagina; devam-devamsizlik, psikolojik, ve sosyo-ekonomik alanlarda cesitli etkiler yaratacagina dair ortak kanaatler gelistirdigi gorulmustur. Arastirmanin diger kolunu olusturan ogretmenler okullarda serbest kiyafet uygulamasini uygulanabilirlik acisindan yerinde bulmamislardir.


Introduction
Being one of the oldest traditions of education system, school uniforms have survived the years by improving and transforming. They first emerged in the Middle Ages in universities in the form of black smocks with white collars. The instructors and scholarship students in universities used to wear decorous clothes just like priests. Afterwards, non-ritual clothes of priests were accepted as academic outfit by the Council of Oxford. Hence, such clothes of priests were accepted as academic clothes in many universities (Hargreaves-Mawdsley, 1963;Cite in: Meşeci-Grigoretti & Hesapçıoğlu, 2009).
Religious clothes have been one of the most influential tools to equip people with religious morals. Having such an effect, these clothes have been part of the education system for centuries and have established themselves a fundamental place within the education system. The first uniforms, black smocks with white collars, were made obligatory to be worn by university students to make them adopt the lifestyles of Christian priests and monks. This tradition later spread and survived until today.
School dress codes may differ from country to country with variations even in the same country. For instance, there is no general law or regulation on school uniform or dress code in the United Kingdom. This is under the authority of school managements. Nevertheless, students of many schools in the United Kingdom wear school uniforms, and schools have to pay attention to the cost of uniforms while making a selection (Yavuz, 2013). Department of Education encourages school uniform practice as it is assumed to make students acquire a sense of belongingness and support positive behaviors (UK Department of Education, 2012).
In the USA, most public schools have free dress code while in certain provinces a great many of schools impose uniform on students. Certain schools prefer having uniforms to ensure discipline. In the USA, demand for school uniforms by school managers increased by 7.00% in a decade from 2000 to 2010 (Robers et al., 2012).
In Japan, students only wear hats or symbols for their schools to be distinguished in most public elementary schools. However, uniforms are obligatory for middle schools. The changes in behaviors, attitudes, and expectations in company with the dress code show the dignity of middle schools (Gedik, 2007).
In Turkey, the first regulations on dress code in education were made after the Edict of Gülhane in 1839 during the Ottoman period. The uniforms worn in Ottoman junior high schools and military schools that were opened in 1776 were later accepted as uniforms for students during the Tanzimat period with the influence of the French Revolution (Ergin, 1977). In this period, educational institutions that offered modern education and were close to secularism were tried to be established (Akyüz, 1989;Ortaylı, 1987).
From the mid-1800s onwards, the French schools established pioneered the modernization of traditional education schools of the Ottoman Empire. In 1856, sisters from Notre Dame de Sion, who were well-known for the education they gave in France, opened a school in Istanbul. The other French schools that followed this school posed a model for Turkish education system both because of the discipline they implemented and their stereo-typicality. These habits were maintained during the Ottoman and early Republic periods. This traditional outfit became the student uniform in schools during the Republic period (Meşeci-Grigoretti & Hesapçıoğlu, 2009).
In the early Republic period, caps and berets were considered important as they symbolized modernity; however, this importance was not attributed to student outfits due to poverty. "Elementary Schools Regulation" (The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture, 1938) declared in 1929 explained the details of school uniforms for girls and boys and requested a dress uniformity in a way that would not put a burden on parents' shoulders. The photographs showing the student outfit of the period show that students did not wear a single uniform for long period of time (Gök, 1999). The code on caps and berets was implemented until the 1970s (The Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education [MoNE] Department of Research and Development of Education [DRDE], 1997).
With the elementary school regulation declared in 1981, wearing black smocks and white collars became compulsory for students (MoNE, the circular letter dated 22 July 1981). In 1989, black smock was announced to have a negative influence on students in pedagogical terms; therefore, uniforms with different colors were tried in one rural and one urban school in each geographical region (MoNE, the circular letter dated 17 August 1989). At the end of this trial period, it was stated in the circular letter dated 9 February 1990 that elementary school students were allowed to wear warm colors such as dark blue, grey, and navy-blue, either different colors for boys and girls or the same color for both groups (MoNE, the circular letter dated 9 February 1990). This practice went on until the 2000s.
In a workshop dated 2009 on dress code, the Ministry of National Education accepted the proposal suggesting free dress code on the basis of pedagogical and social reasons, and decisions having the characteristics of recommendations such as abolishment of the obligation to wear a tie and determination of the outfits according to climate and regional conditions by parent-teacher associations were taken (MoNE, Workshop on the Evaluation of School Outfits dated 29 June 2009). It is possible to say that these recommendations laid the basis to provide a limited freedom on dress code.
The regulation of the Ministry of National Education dated November 2012 introduced absolutely free dress code and announced that Free Dress Code in Schools would be implemented from the 2013/2014 academic year on. This decision led to disputes in public. Due to these disputes, the amendment made on 25 July 2013 ordered the dress code to be decided by parents. It was announced to the public that if 51.00% of parents approved free dress code in a school, it would be implemented there (MoNE, regulation dated 22 November 2012). Afterwards, the limitations of the free dress code were determined by the circular letter issued on 28 August 2013. According to the circular letter, again, parents' views would be taken into account on the limitations of the free dress code. An extensive research was conducted by a company to explore parents' views regarding the issue. The study revealed that a great majority of the parents (81.40%) opposed free dress code (A&G, 2013). It is important to know how students and teachers approach and what they think about this controversial issue as it is about students and teachers in the first place. In this sense, this study seeks to reveal what students and teachers think about free dress code in schools.

Research Model
The present study dealing with the assessment of free dress code in schools from students' and teachers' perspectives employed mixed method combining qualitative and quantitative methods. According to Creswell (2009), mixed method involves a harmonious combination of strong aspects of qualitative and quantitative processes, which constitute two different aspects of research process and seek answers to different questions. In the present study, qualitative and quantitative processes were conducted with no specific order. That is, the structure used in the study is a concurrent nested design, as suggested by Creswell (2009), interpreting qualitative and quantitative data together.
Quantitative part of the research is based on survey model and focuses on students. Data were collected from the students via "Free Dress Code in Schools Assessment Questionnaire" and "Free Dress Code in Schools Attitude Scale".
Qualitative part of the research, on the other hand, is based on case study and focuses on teachers. Case study allows the researcher to explore a special case in-depth without any concern for generalization and proving (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2008). Teacher views on free dress code in schools were collected via semi-structured interview forms.

Study Group
The study group was selected through stratified sampling. The groups were formed based on the socio-economic categorization of students attending some high schools and middle schools in Gaziantep and Kilis provinces of Turkey. Socio-economic categorization was made under three main titles considering the social, cultural, and economic situations of the environments the schools were situated in. Then the teachers participating in the study were asked to define the socio-economic levels of their schools based on this categorization in order to crosscheck the data obtained. A total of 525 active students studying in these provinces in the 2012-2013 academic year participated in the study. However, only 500 students provided complete data. Data were collected from 11 educational institutions in Kilis (4 high schools, 7 middle schools) and 14 educational institutions in Gaziantep (6 high schools and 8 middle schools). 25 teachers working in these schools reported their views on free dress code in schools.
60.00% of the teachers were male, while 40.00% were female. 24.00% of the teachers worked in an environment with high level income, 40.00% in an environment with medium level income, and 36.00% in an environment with low level income. 12.00% of the teachers had a work experience of 15 to 20 years, 20.00% a work experience of 10 to 15 years, 16.00% a work experience of 5 to 10 years, and 48.00% a work experience of 1 to 5 years.

Data Collection Tools
"Free Dress Code in Schools Assessment Questionnaire" and "Free Dress Code in Schools Attitude Scale" were employed to collect data from the students while semi-structured interview forms were used to collect data from the teachers.

Free Dress Code in Schools Assessment
Questionnaire: Based on the literature review, a questionnaire consisting 20 items was created. While preparing the pilot questionnaire form, an assessment and evaluation expert and two educational sciences experts were consulted with regard to the statements in the questionnaire. A pilot study was administered to a group of 15 people. Based on the feedbacks, the sentences including two statements at the same time were corrected, thereby making an attempt to ensure that each item would measure a single characteristic. Positive and negative statements are listed in a mixed order in the questionnaire. The questionnaire is a 5-point Likert-type scale. However, the options "I strongly agree" and "I agree" and the options "I strongly disagree" and "I disagree" were combined while interpreting the data. Cronbach's alpha reliability value of the questionnaire was calculated to be .79. This result indicates that the questionnaire data yield reliable results. There are 15 items in the scale developed to reveal students' attitudes towards free dress code. While preparing the pilot scale form, an assessment and evaluation expert and two educational sciences experts were consulted with regard to the statements in the questionnaire. A pilot study was administered to a group of 15 people. Of the scale items, 9 are positive statements about free dress code, whereas 6 are negative statements about free dress code. Positive and negative expressions in the scale are listed in a mixed order. This is a 5-point Likert-type scale.
In the analysis process of the scale data, internal consistency coefficient was calculated for 15 items within the scope of reliability analysis in the first place. Cronbach's alpha value, the internal consistency coefficient, was found to be .79 for the entire scale. Cronbach's alpha values for the two equal halves were found to be .88 and .77. These values indicate that the scale is reliable. Construct validity of the scale was analyzed via explanatory factor analysis (EFA) within the scope of its validity study. To conduct EFA, the data were initially subjected to KMO and Bartlett's Test. It was seen that the data were fit for it. At the end of the principal components analysis, covariance values of the items were examined, and the 8 th item with a factor covariance value smaller than .35 was excluded from the scale. Then attention was paid to ensure that each item would have a high factor value only in one factor. In this sense, it was taken as a criterion that there would be at least .10 differences between the loading value of an item included in a factor in such factor and its loading value in any other factor (Büyüköztürk, 2011). Table 4 shows the factor loading values of the items included in the scale and falling under two factors based on the aforementioned criteria. As shown in table, 14 items falling under two factors explain 63.08% of total variance. Based on the relations of the items, factor 1 was named as "positive aspects" while factor 2 was named as "negative aspects". However, no analysis was made on the sub-dimensions, and only the grand total was focused on.

Semi-Structured Interview Form:
A semi-structured interview form was prepared to reveal the teachers' views of free dress code. With this form, answers were sought to the following two questions in general: 1. Should free dress code be implemented or not? 2. What are the positive and negative aspects of free dress code?

Data Analysis
The data obtained in the quantitative part of the research were entered in SPSS 20.0. Before the data were analyzed, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was carried out to determine whether they had a normal distribution. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is a normality test that is used when sample size is over 50 (Büyüköztürk, 2011). The data obtained through the attitude scale (n=500, Statistic=1.72, p<.05) did not have a normal distribution. Thus, non-parametric tests were used in the data analysis process.
The data obtained in the qualitative part of the research, on the other hand, were evaluated through content analysis and open coding. The data obtained through the analysis were transferred to computer environment. The texts obtained were coded by two different researchers. Then agreement between the codes was checked without any mathematical operation. In general, the codes were determined to be in agreement. Afterwards, the codes were brought together, and their common points were identified. By this means, the themes (categories) constituting relevance to the research aims were detected. Table 5 presents the frequencies, percentages, and modes of the responses to each questionnaire item. According to the table, most of the students think in relation to free dress code that socio-economic differences between individuals will be more apparent; tolerance and democracy in school will not improve; disciplinary problems in school will not diminish; success in lessons will not improve; there will be no competition of clothing among students; students will not conflict with their parents; students will be more willing to go to school; absenteeism will not decrease; uniforms block creativity; students get worried that other students will mock at them; they may have to cut their spending to buy clothes; they may work in a job to buy clothes; students that do not study in a particular school may enter it and cause troubles there; security problems in schools will increase; they feel themselves freer; students will spend more time preparing for school; they will be distracted in school due to strange or obscene clothes worn by people; they will be more satisfied with their appearance; theft will increase in schools; and students who cannot dress as well as their friends will feel jealous and defective.

Students' Attitudes towards Free Dress Code
A scale was developed and implemented to determine the students' attitudes towards free dress code. Based on the scale data, it was investigated whether the students' attitudes towards free dress code differed by gender, school type, and socio-economic situation. Whether the students' attitudes towards free dress code differed by gender was investigated via U test. According to the Mann-Whitney U test results, there was a significant difference between the students' attitude scores by gender (U=22692.50, p<.05). The male students had higher mean ranks compared to the female students. This shows that the male students have a more positive attitude towards free dress code than the female students. Whether the students' attitudes towards free dress code differed by school type was investigated via U test. According to the Mann-Whitney U Test results, there was no significant difference between the students' attitude scores by school type (U=18865.50, p>.05). This implies that the public school students and the private school students have similar attitudes towards free dress code. Whether the students' attitudes towards free dress code differed by family income level was investigated via H test. According to the analysis results, there was no significant difference between the students' attitude scores by family income level (X 2 (df=2, n=500) = 5.39, p>.05). This shows that attitude towards free dress code is not associated with family income level.

Teachers' Views of Free Dress Code
This section presents findings obtained through the content analysis of the semi-structured interview forms administered to the teachers. The findings are divided into two: (1) positive views of free dress code; (2) negative views of free dress code. They are presented based on tables of frequency.

Teachers' preferences about free dress code:
In response to the question "Should free dress code be implemented or not?", eight teachers gave affirmative responses while 15 teachers delivered negative responses. Two teachers, on the other hand, stated that they were neutral.
Teachers' negative responses about free dress code: Table 9 presents the teachers' negative views of free dress code. There are eight themes and 42 codes under these themes. These codes were mentioned 78 times in total. Disciplinary problems may emerge 7 T16: As teachers may not understand who are students and who are not when free dress code is put into effect, security problems may emerge. School uniforms should be used to ensure discipline, equality, and security in education. T7: A big difficulty may be experienced in recognizing students.
Security problems may emerge 7 Students and non-students may be confused 6 Economic Problems Socio-economic differences may become apparent 2 T5: Class differences may become sharper.
T12: Parents who normally do not have enough money to buy uniforms will now struggle more to buy different clothes as a result of free dress code.
Class differences may become apparent 3 Economic problems may emerge 1 School expenses may increase 1 It is not suitable for the economic structure of the country 1 Student Psychology Poor students may feel defective 1 T3: As free dress code will make individuals' socioeconomic situation more apparent, it may cause students to feel defective. T8: Free dress code may cause poor students to feel excluded among others. T13: It is very likely that students will mock at those students who come to school with the same clothes every day and call them poor. T16: Students from low-income families may feel lowly, which may negatively affect their psychology. Sense of belonging to school may decrease 2 T2: I think school uniforms are important for students to have a sense of belonging. This will also contribute to the sense of "We" in the school environment. T7: Education may stay in the background. Students may start to regard school as a different place, not school. T24: Not every student may have a chance to wear a different cloth every day. This will lead to negative approaches among students.
Unit and solidarity in school may decrease 1 Students' school perceptions may change 1 Absenteeism may increase 1 Student relations may deteriorate 2 In-family conflicts may be experienced 2 T21: Our country's background and socio-economic situation are not suitable for free dress code as there is income inequality and a big difference between the standards of living of different classes.
Income equality becomes apparent 1 It is not suitable for the structure of the country 2 The theme on which the teachers focused most while delivering their negative responses about free dress code was school discipline and security. Within this theme, the teachers used the codes of security problems, discipline problems, and confusion of students with non-students. Table 10 presents the teachers' positive views of free dress code. There are four themes and 25 codes under these themes. These codes were mentioned 39 times in total.

Teachers' positive responses about free dress code :
The theme on which the teachers focused most while delivering their positive responses about free dress code was freedom-comfort. Within this theme, the teachers used the codes of dressing to one's heart's content, freedom, comfort, decrease in pressure, getting rid of uniformity, getting rid of military discipline, freedom of expression, freedom of preference and choice, democracy, getting rid of stereotypes, convenience for parents, getting rid of uniform problem, increased self-confidence, and modern appearance. Students with more positive attitudes towards school 1 T8: Uniforms cause students to think while going to school that they are going to a space outside the life. Free dress code can make students feel that school is a space inside the life.

Conclusion, Discussion, and Recommendations
This study aimed to reveal students' and teachers' views of free dress code through a mixed research design. To this end, data were collected from the students via quantitative method and from the teachers via qualitative method. The students' responses to the questionnaire show the following: Most of the students think in regard to the negative aspects of free dress code that socio-economic differences between individuals will be more apparent; students get worried that other students will mock at them; they may have to cut their spending to buy clothes; they may work in a job to buy clothes; students that do not study in a particular school may have an access to school and cause troubles there; security problems in schools will increase; students will spend more time preparing for school; they will be distracted in school due to strange or obscene clothes worn by people; theft will increase in schools; and students who cannot dress as well as their friends will feel jealous and defective.
Most of the students think in regard to the positive aspects of free dress code that there will be no competition of clothing among students; they will not conflict with their parents; they will be more willing to go to school; uniforms block creativity; they feel freer; and they will be more satisfied with their appearance.
Apart from all these positive and negative aspects of free dress code, majority of the students think that tolerance and democracy in school will not improve; disciplinary problems in school will not diminish; success in lessons will not improve; and absenteeism will not decrease. In other words, according to the students, positive effects aimed with free dress code will not come true.
Although the students have some positive views of free dress code, they mostly have negative views. In addition, they believe that free dress code will not accomplish the positive effects it aims. Their attitudes towards free dress code do not differ by school type (i.e. attending a public school or a private school) and socio-economic level; however, there is a difference between student attitudes by gender. The male students have higher attitudes towards free dress code. That is to say, while the students have similar attitudes towards free dress code regardless of family income level or school type, the male students are more positive about it compared to female students.
As to the teachers, the majority of them are not positive about free dress code. Through qualitative data analysis, four themes and 25 codes within these themes were detected in relation to the teachers' positive views about free dress code. They mentioned these codes 39 times in total. On the other hand, eight themes and 42 codes within these themes were identified in relation to the teachers' negative views about free dress code. They mentioned these codes 78 times in total. The fact that the codes and frequencies of negative views doubled those of positive views can be seen as a proof of that the teachers generally have negative views of free dress code. The teachers expressed the biggest number of positive views about free dress code under the theme of freedom-comfort, whereas the theme focused on most while delivering negative views was school discipline and security. This indicates that school discipline and security should be given particular importance in the implementation process of free dress code.
In Kıran (2001), the students stated that free dress code would disrupt the order of classrooms and schools. Likewise, in a study exploring student security in the USA before and after free dress code, school security was found to be 46.00% when free dress code was in effect and 75.00% when it was abolished and uniforms were adopted (NAESP, 1998). In MoNE DRDE (1997), half of the students said that they obeyed the rules more when they wore a uniform.
The students do not think that free dress code will improve success and attendance. Similarly, in MoNE DRDE (1997), the item "obligation to wear a uniform negatively influences my success in lessons" was included in the questionnaire administered to the students; however, 64.20% of the students did not agree with this item. In that study, while 21.60% of the students noted that uniforms caused them to be more passive in lessons, 60.30% of them just told the contrary. There are also studies showing that free dress has no direct relationship with academic success (Brunsma, 2004;Yeung, 2008). According to Brunsma and Rockmquemore (1998), uniforms reduce absenteeism, though slowly, and improve student behaviors.
It was found out in the present study that free dress code raises students' economic concerns. In Kıran (2001), the students stated that free dress code would put families in economic difficulty. It is also argued that adoption of uniforms in the USA will diminish students' school expenses by 80.00%, and the total cost of all these clothes will be lower than the cost of a branded jean (Cohn & Siegel 1996;U.S. Department of Education, 1996).
The students stated that free dress code makes them free and fond of school. Dees (2002) also reports that uniforms will lead to uniformity and reduce individuality. Similarly, Wade and Standford (2003) argue that uniforms may decrease self-respect as they limit students' ability to express themselves. In MoNE DRDE (1997, 62.00% of the students disagreed with the questionnaire item 'I feel freer in uniforms'. In that study, 52.00% of the students disagreed with the questionnaire item "uniforms cause me to go to school reluctantly". In Kıran (2001), the item stated by the students most frequently was "I dislike going to school with the same clothes every day".
The students do not think that free dress code will deteriorate relations with friends or parents. In a similar vein, in MoNE DRDE (1997), a great majority of the students stated that they would not be disturbed by that everybody would come to school with different clothes in case of the implementation of free dress code. However, in Kıran (2001), the students stated that free dress code would cause an unnecessary wish to be like others among students and deteriorate family relations.
The students have various worries about free dress code such as being mocked at, being distracted by clothes worn by others, and spending too much time preparing for school. In Tucker (1999), it was stated that uniforms will decrease mocking and thus increase self-respect among students. Alspach (2007) reports that especially female students reduce sleeping and studying time as they spend too much time on getting dressed.
The students disagree with that free dress code will improve democracy and tolerance in school. In a study exploring school climate before and after uniforms, school climate was found to be 60.00% when free dress code was in effect and 82.00% when uniforms were adopted (NAESP, 1998).
The students think that free dress code will make socio-economic differences between students apparent. Dees (2002) found out that as uniforms do not lead to a difference between clothes, they create a more positive interaction environment for students having different socio-economic levels.
The male students were found to have higher attitudes towards free dress code scores compared to the female students. In other words, the male students are more positive about free dress code. In MoNE DRDE (1997) also, a significant difference was found between the attitude scores of the females and those of the males by gender. The males were seen to have higher attitude scores than the females. However, Kıran (2001) did not detect any significant difference between the females and the males. Another study dealing with this issue compared Turkish and American educational practices. A great majority of the students stated that they did not want classical uniforms and were more positive about new dress code involving free dress. Only 20.00% stated that uniforms were more appropriate. The fact that the female students within this small group deemed uniforms appropriate implies a similar result (Çimen, 2012).
Investigating the relationship between attitude towards free dress code and socio-economic level and grade, Kıran (2001) determined that attitudes differed by socio-economic level, but no significant difference was found between the attitudes by grade. The students from low income group were seen to have higher attitudes towards uniforms compared to the students from other groups.
The negative responses delivered by the teachers in regard to free dress code in schools mostly involve the effects of free dress code on students' psychology, its effects on school discipline and security, and students' concerns about their physical appearances as a result of free dress code. Such concerns were about students not having good economic conditions. The teachers stated that such students would feel low, be mentally depressed, withdraw, lose their self-confidence, and thus have lower success. Gentile and Imberman (2011) also indicated that free dress code may lead to deterioration of relations among students and down mood, withdrawal, loneliness, loss of selfconfidence, and low self-respect among students with low income level.
The teachers also stated that as students and non-students may not be distinguished, security problems may emerge and that free dress code may give rise to discipline problems. The literature contains studies that support these findings (Brunsma, 2002;Cohn, 1996;Hughes, 2006;Pate, 2006). The positive responses delivered by the teachers in regard to free dress code in schools mostly involve freedom and comfort to be offered by free dress. Among all the themes (i.e. both positive and negative themes), the theme of freedom-comfort turned out to be the most frequently mentioned theme with a total frequency of 53 times. Expressions such as dressing to one's heart's content, freedom of expression, getting rid of uniformity, comfort, getting rid of military discipline, freedom of choice, decrease in pressure, freedom, and democracy were used within this theme. According to King (1998), free dress code in schools is a way of expressing oneself for students and reflects their psychological worlds.
Considering all these findings, it is clear that the teachers and the students mostly have negative views of free dress code. Hence, it is safe to say that free dress code will not be as successful as expected. It can be said that any attempt to put any process like free dress that directly concerns students and teachers into practice without taking the opinions of stakeholders will cause certain troubles. On the other hand, the results of this study are limited as only Gaziantep and Kilis provinces were included in the study. Whether there are differences in other provinces and regions should be investigated. In this regard, future research may provide more comprehensive and clear findings about free dress code.