Teaching independent learning skills in the first year: A positive psychology strategy for promoting law student well-being

Rachael Field,James Duffy,Anna Huggins

doi:10.5204/jld.v8i2.238

Abstract

Empirical evidence in Australia and overseas has established that in many university disciplines, students begin to experience elevated levels of psychological distress in their first year of study. There is now a considerable body of empirical data that establishes that this is a significant problem for law students. Psychological distress may hamper a law student’s capacity to learn successfully, and certainly hinders their ability to thrive in the tertiary environment. We know from Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a conceptual branch of positive psychology, that supporting students’ autonomy in turn supports their well-being. This article seeks to connect the literature on law student well-being and independent learning using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the theoretical bridge. We argue that deliberate instruction in the development of independent learning skills in the first year curriculum is autonomy supportive. It can therefore lay the foundation for academic and personal success at university, and may be a protective factor against decline in law student psychological well-being

Highlights

There is a growing body of evidence that high numbers of Australian university students experience elevated levels of psychological distress, and that this distress often begins in the first year (Larcombe, 2014; Leahy, Peterson, Wilson, Newbury, Tonkin, & Turnbull, 2010; Stallman, 2010, 2011; Townes O’Brien, Tang, & Hall, 2011)
Early evidence suggested that law students were faring proportionally worse than other students when it came to elevated levels of psychological distress (Leahy et al, 2010)
The authors believe that legal academics have an ethical imperative to act on the available evidence (Watson & Field, 2011) to seek ways to address the high levels of psychological distress being experienced, and to seek strategies that promote student well-being

Summary

Introduction

There is a growing body of evidence that high numbers of Australian university students experience elevated levels of psychological distress, and that this distress often begins in the first year (Larcombe, 2014; Leahy, Peterson, Wilson, Newbury, Tonkin, & Turnbull, 2010; Stallman, 2010, 2011; Townes O’Brien, Tang, & Hall, 2011). The curriculum is a critical site for the creation of learning and teaching environments that address the high levels of psychological distress, and promote student well-being, by empowering and enabling students (Huggins, 2012). This idea of wellness promotion is congruent with the guiding principles of positive psychology, which calls for a focus on, and strengthening of, what is going right, in addition to the fixing of what is going wrong (Peterson, 2006). Before proceeding with a closer examination of relevant tenets of SDT, a deeper understanding of independent learning is desirable

Independent learning in higher education

Putting theory into practice in the curriculum

Findings

Conclusion