Career and Technical Education Administrators’ Perceptions of Secondary teachers’ Attire as Indicated by Selected professional Attributes

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of career and technical education (CTE) administrators toward secondary teachers' attire as indicated by 10 occupational attributes. The population consisted of CTE administrators employed by West Virginia Department of Education during 2006-2007 academic school year. The top three attributes perceived by CTE respondents as influencing women’s and men’s traditional clothing were: professionalism, responsibility, efficiency. In the leisure attire category, the top three attributes for women's and men's clothing were: responsibility, honesty, and knowledgeability. Commonalities existed between women’s and men's business casual clothing on the following top two attributes: responsibility and professionalism. Business casual was perceived by CTE respondents as the dominant category of attire on their campus. Overall, CTE administrators perceived that secondary teachers' attire does affect the professionalism of teachers.