Building a (Self) Reflective Muscle in Diverse First-Year Law Students

Abstract

Research relating to the development of law students’ professional identity has long recognised that as they develop their identity as part of a profession, as well as their academic identity, they need to develop an ‘ethical muscle’. In addition to the idea of an ‘ethical muscle’ others have proposed that students, and lawyers, need to develop a ‘reflective muscle’. Self-reflection, a form of personal reflection that asks students to question themselves, their actions, and behaviours, is particularly important for ‘diverse’ or ‘non-traditional’ law students. These students often experience a disconnect between their expectations of university, and their lived experience, which is overlaid by the complications of the hidden curriculum. These factors may combine to result in diverse students attributing their lack of success early in their studies to a lack of ability, rather than to structural impediments in a system that does not make the ‘rules of the game’ explicit. This mixed-methods study examines one aspect of a holistic first-year transition program for a diverse first-year law cohort: a Self-Reflection Survey. It demonstrates that an instrument such as the Self-Reflection Survey might be used to scaffold diverse students’ self-reflection skills and assist law schools to manage students’ expectations, make explicit aspects of the curriculum that may otherwise be hidden from them, and instil an early sense of professionalism and purpose. Supporting the transition of diverse students to university does not end with entering university; this is where it starts. The results of this study provide encouraging ways forward to build the likelihood of success of diverse students in their law studies.