Law School Research Articles

Instilling pedagogy through the Shepherding process

Research on sessional teachers in legal education is underrepresented in the literature (Blackham, 2020). In law schools, sessional teachers are employed to develop and deliver bespoke intensive-based subjects at postgraduate level and are often classifiable as ‘outside industry experts’ (OIEs); this cohort has been described as atypical of sessional academics across the sector in many ways (Cowley, 2010). This poster presentation seeks to add to this area of knowledge, by presenting something of an auto-ethnographic snapshot of a ‘shepherding process’, implemented at MLS, from Educational Designers’ point of view. ‘Shepherding’ is a collaborative initiative for new subjects proposed to be taught at the MLS, enhancing curriculum design outcomes and pedagogical capabilities of new subject coordinators (most of whom lack formal training in teaching), as well as facilitating connection to the wider teaching and learning community and support services. When a new subject is proposed, would-be lecturers are usually not yet employed by the school. Having pitched an idea for a subject with the school, they work with an Educational Designer to refine a new subject proposal to be reviewed by a curriculum committee. As such, the shepherding process and the final deliverable of the new subject proposal form also forms part of the candidature process for prospective subject coordinators. Grounded in co-design principles, shepherding facilitates the integration of instructional design theories, particularly constructive alignment and backwards design, into the subject development workflow from the outset. The educational designer’s role is central to shepherding and begins with the collaborative formulation of subject intended learning outcomes (SILOs), development of an assessment regime and comprehensive subject mapping, with the aim to establish constructive alignment. Additionally, the shepherding process includes guidance on designing course content within the LMS, providing a structured and accessible online environment for students. In helping guide a new subject through to acceptance and by being a singular point of contact with new lecturers, the educational designer forms an ongoing relationship which can also help with ensuing curriculum development. Hitch et al. (2017) and Hattam et al. (2024) have both argued that sustainable and targeted professional development of sessional staff is a critical factor for increasing engagement and feelings of connection with their institution and to their roles, and that where this is lacking the consistency and quality of student educational experience can be undermined. Cowley (2010) argues for the creation of school-level programs of support for law schools, specifically aimed at OIEs, in lieu of one-size-fits-all programs at the institutional level. Because of the nature of the OIE cohort and subject delivery timelines, there is a limited window of opportunity to work towards ‘acculturating casual staff to the new student-focused learning agendas’ (Kift, 2003 cited in Cowley, 2010), towards improving student learning outcomes. By providing targeted support for OIE teaching staff, the shepherding process has represented a significant advance in MLS’s instructional design and curriculum development process, enhancing the alignment, consistency and quality of subject design. By aligning teaching practices with established instructional design theories, the process enhances the educational experience for both instructors and students.

The Effects of Social Cues in Self-Produced Micro Video Lectures on Parasocial Interaction, Motivational Interest, Extraneous Cognitive Load, and Concept Learning Performance: an Empirical Study in a Junior High School

Background and Aim: Videos are popular in the dissemination of knowledge at scale, which can be seen in various video-based platforms and educational disruption. However, inconsistent results were reported in studies. This research is designed to determine the effectiveness of social cues in self-produced micro video lectures on parasocial interaction, motivational interest, extraneous cognitive load, and concept learning performance and the relationship among them. Materials and Methods: Self-produced videos for learning concepts of morality and the rule of law in junior high schools were used as the treatment. Tests were used to determine concept learning performance and Likert scales were utilized to collect information on the other three variables. 248 students from the eighth grade in a public school were involved in the sample. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze differences among groups, and path analysis as well as was adopted to determine the relationship between variables. Results: There was no significant difference among the four groups on each variable. Parasocial interaction has a significant positive impact on motivational interest, motivational interest has a negative significant impact on extraneous cognitive load, and extraneous cognitive load has a negative significant impact on concept learning performance. Conclusion: The effects of the increment of types of social cues can be ignored in 6-minute self-produced video lectures. Students’ parasocial interaction can influence concept learning performance via the mediation of the cognition process and motivational factors. The extraneous cognitive load decreases with the stimulation of the motivational interest.

What Is Human Resources Law?

Abstract Human Resources (‘HR’) Law is not a term much used by legal scholars. In law schools throughout the English-speaking world, one encounters courses on employment law, labour law and, less frequently, work law, but no courses on ‘HR law’. Outside of law schools, however, the term is common parlance, at least in North America. But what is HR law? Is it nothing other than employment law, rebranded to appeal to firms and other employing organisations? In this paper, we argue that HR law reflects and reinforces a particular paradigm or vision of work relations that is quite distinct from traditional understandings of labour law’s defining purpose. When it comes to interpreting and applying employment law, moreover, human resource management professionals and HR lawyers assume positions of authority—positions of authority that might be recognised within firms by senior management and, beyond the firm, by courts, policy makers and legislatures. To what extent and with which consequences this is so, is likely to be jurisdiction-specific and demands further investigation.

Learning on the job? Addressing students’ exposure to bullying, harassment or discrimination during legal placements

ABSTRACT Law schools in the UK regularly encourage and support students to apply for vacation placement schemes on the basis that they provide valuable work experience and improve career progression prospects. There are, however, rarely any processes in place within universities to ensure equitable access to such opportunities nor systematic procedures for enabling reflection and evaluation post-placement before encouraging repeat uptake from future cohorts. In a context in which the legal profession continues to face well-documented challenges in regard to bullying, harassment and discrimination, these placements have the potential to expose students to inappropriate workplace behaviour. However, the nature of students’ experiences in this respect, and the adequacy of existing mechanisms for reporting and responding to any complaints, have not to date been the subject of sufficient scrutiny. Drawing on scoping research involving semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, this article explores students’ potential exposure to bullying, harassment or discrimination in the particular context of mini-pupillages undertaken at the legal Bar, and calls for increased clarity across chambers, regulators and universities alike in regard to lines of communication and accountability to address this.

School starting age and mothers’ labour supply: causal evidence from the 2012 education reform in Turkey

PurposeThis paper assesses the impact of a reduction in childcare costs, resulting from a change in compulsory schooling law, on mothers' labour supply in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachThe 2012 Education Reform lowered the school starting age, allowing children up to 60 months old to enrol in primary schools. Previously, the starting age was seven years old, corresponding to 72-month-old children. We consider this change as an implied childcare subsidy for mothers with eligible children and investigate its labour market consequences. Using Turkish Household Labour Force Surveys, we applied a differences-in-differences method to estimate the effect of this law on mothers' labour supply.FindingsThe results reveal that the reform did not alter mothers' labour supply behaviour, even when categorized by educational attainment and marital status. While the findings for married mothers align with previous literature, the results for single mothers, despite showing a positive magnitude, are not statistically significant.Originality/valuePrevious literature shows a strong correlation but limited causal evidence on childcare subsidies and maternal labour supply in Turkey. This study is the first to use a change in compulsory schooling law to provide causal evidence. The results suggest that mothers in developing countries may respond differently to subsidies than those in developed countries, especially when there is an extensive informal childcare market. Policymakers should consider this when addressing mothers' behavioural inertia.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0110

Developing an NHS patient safety culture: swings and roundabouts.

John Tingle, Associate Professor, Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, discusses a new report and consultation on NHS patient safety culture development.

Edukacja prawna w szkołach ponadpodstawowych

The article addresses the issue of legal education in secondary schools, especially in the context of recent changes that drastically reduce the legal issues discussed in the core curriculum. The author presents the social importance of legal education and the need to raise legal awareness, compares the past and current scope of law-related content provided in the subjects “Social Knowledge” and “History and the Present”, and formulates postulates as to the future form of education law in secondary schools.

Intergenerational effects of education on child mortality: Evidence from the compulsory primary schooling law in Vietnam

We leverage the introduction of Vietnam’s primary compulsory schooling law as a natural experiment to provide new evidence on the effects of parents’ education on child mortality. Employing data from the 2009 Vietnam Population and Housing Census and a regression discontinuity design, we show that the reform increased average schooling duration by approximately half a year. Our key findings reveal that one additional year of maternal schooling induced by the law reduced child mortality by 29.4%, with the majority of improvements concentrated among women residing in rural areas, minor ethnicities, and female children. While increased paternal education also exhibited a negative impact on child mortality, the effect diminished in magnitude and became statistically insignificant when controlling for maternal education. This suggests that neglecting to account for spousal education does not introduce substantial biases in estimates of maternal education’s effect on child mortality but may lead to an upward bias in estimates for fathers’ education. Further, our results indicate that increased maternal education was associated with increasing age at marriage and first birth, reducing total fertility, and engaging more in paid work, all of which could serve as potential pathways for child mortality reduction.

Islamic commercial law in action: a look into AAOIFI’s Sharīʿah standard on Waqf

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Sharīʿah Basis of AAOIFI’s Sharīʿah Standard No. (60) – “Waqf” and gain an insight into the Islamic jurisprudential schools of thought depended on while drafting/issuing the standard. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a qualitative methodology and AAOIFI’s Sharīʿah Standard No. (60) – “Waqf” as a case study. This is referred to as a single/holistic case study design. Findings The findings of this study reveal that while AAOIFI’s Sharīʿah Standard No. (60) – “Waqf” did depend on the Maliki school of fiqh, it certainly referenced other jurisprudential schools of thought, such as Ḥanafī and Shāfiʿī schools of law. This raised a question of legal pluralism and how contemporary Sharīʿah jurisconsults are able to select rulings within particular Islamic jurisprudential schools to fit current needs and for the overall betterment of society. Research limitations/implications This research does not delve into the technical aspects of AAOIFI’s waqf standard (furūʿ al-fiqh), but rather, is limited to understanding the basis of rulings therein and the jurisprudential schools of thought heavily depended on. Originality/value Given that the (revised) AAOIFI waqf standard is relatively new, limited studies have been conducted particularly focusing on the basis of Sharīʿah rulings therein. This research contributes to knowledge by providing one of the starting points to deliberate on this matter.

Interview with Franz Perrez

Franz Perrez is Director-General of the Directorate of International Law at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Switzerland. He is responsible for the development and interpretation of international law and ensuring that Switzerland's strategic rights are respected abroad. As a member of the FDFA senior management, Mr Perrez is also jointly responsible for the FDFA's strategic approach and advises the Federal Council, Switzerland's representatives abroad and other Federal Administration offices on international law issues. Prior to his new role Mr Perrez was appointed Switzerland's Ambassador for the Environment and Head of the International Affairs Division at the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in 2010. In this capacity, he headed the Swiss delegations to international environmental and climate negotiations for thirteen years. After studying law in Bern and Paris, Mr Perrez worked at the FDFA's Directorate of International Law from 1993 to 1995. He went on to study at New York University, where he gained a master of laws focusing on international law and completed a PhD thesis on the topic of sovereignty as a principle of cooperation. On returning to Switzerland, he took up a position at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Division of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, before joining the FOEN in 2001. Mr Perrez has proven expertise in international law. He has widely published in the area of international environmental law, international environmental governance, the relationship between trade and the environment, and public international law. Since 2008, Mr Perrez has also lectured on international environmental law at the University of Bern School of Law. He served as a panellist on the newest WTO tuna–dolphin dispute between Mexico and the United States, and as Switzerland's Ambassador for the Environment and Chief Negotiator for Environmental Issues, namely climate change, biodiversity, chemicals and waste, he led the Swiss delegation to the Rio+20 conference and to the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015. He was President of the Basel Convention (COP 11 in 2013) and President of the Rotterdam Convention (COP 8 in 2017) and facilitated the negotiations on mitigation of the Paris Agreement. Through his work within and outside of Switzerland, he has built strong networks around the world and within the Federal Administration.

Diverse Disconnectedness: Homophily, Social Capital Inequality, and Student Experiences in Law School

Diverse Disconnectedness: Homophily, Social Capital Inequality, and Student Experiences in Law School

The current state of patient safety in the NHS: the Darzi Report.

John Tingle, Associate Professor, Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, discusses the recent Darzi report on the NHS in England.

THE TRAGEDY OF FELIX FRANKFURTER: FROM CIVIL LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST TO REACTIONARY JUSTICE

This article reconsiders the life and record of Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter. Frankfurter was smart, hardworking, and talented, serving as a great activist lawyer and important law professor in his early career. When nominated to the court, there were high hopes he would follow Holmes and Brandeis in leading a progressive Court that would protect civil liberties and minority rights. However, it was not to be. On the Court Frankfurter became increasingly conservative and ultimately reactionary. In his opinions, he upheld persecution and discrimination of religious and racial minorities, occasionally hindered racial justice and civil liberties efforts, and opposed due process in criminal trials and fairness in elections. Arrogant and dismissive, he constantly fought with his brethren, alienating almost all of them. In the end Frankfurter was far too often on the wrong side of history, liberty and the law, and even legal ethics. The tragedy of Frankfurter is that he abandoned the constitutional rights and protections that he supported from his graduation from law school until he donned his robes. He could have been a great justice. Sadly, he was not.

Applying critical pedagogies to human rights education

ABSTRACT The right to education is recognised in international human rights law, underpinned by guidance for human rights education to assure the goals of the UN Charter. While this vision for human rights education has been around since the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recent developments at UN level have galvanised interdisciplinary scholarship, drawing pedagogical frameworks from education studies, sociology, development studies, psychology, and philosophy into the teaching of international human rights law generally situated within law schools in higher education. Yet scholarship on the pedagogy of human rights education is in its infancy. Recent trends point to the transformative potential of utilising radical and critical pedagogies in furtherance of human rights education. Adding to the toolkit, this article presents a conceptually oriented framework for application to human rights educational practice. It builds on critical human rights education scholarship, interrogating how human rights education can tackle structural injustice, elucidating ways to infuse classroom learning with horizontal human rights principles, and examining the psychosocial factors in this kind of learning. The application of critical pedagogies to human rights education will be of interest to human rights educators and students of human rights everywhere.

Конструирование модели эволюции права как социокультурного феномена на материале средневековой Испании в контексте применения антропологического методологического подхода в правовой науке

Purpose. The author aims to create a model of the evolution of law as a Western European socio-cultural phenomenon based on materials of medieval Spain, where the formation and fundamental transformation of law occurred. The peculiarity of this model lies in the fact that the content component predominates over the chronological one. Methodology: to achieve this goal, the author uses the method of legal modeling within the framework of the anthropological methodological approach, which is considered to be one of the most promising in modern science. This approach allows for taking into account the features of human consciousness that creates, re-creates, and deconstructs socio-cultural phenomena, that exist both subjectively and objectively. Conclusions: In modern legal theory, there are two contradictory concepts. On the one hand, there is logocentrism, which represents rationalism as a foundation of the theory of knowledge. On the other hand, there is the idea that social reality contains an irrational element. This new perspective challenges the assumption that knowledge can fully reflect reality.This approach allowed us to create a model of the development of law in the context of Western European legal civilization, considering its socio-cultural aspect. The article demonstrates that the study of Law in higher educational institutions is based on an understanding that it is both universal, due to the unified psychophysiological nature of human consciousness, and individual, determined by cultural and civilizational characteristics. Scientific and practical relevance. The theoretical significance of the results is based on the possibility of applying the model developed in this study to other states, both within the Romano-Germanic legal family and in other regions. This approach allows for taking into account cultural differences while maintaining the universality of the model. The practical significance of this study lies in its potential to contribute to legal education by providing students with a deeper understanding of the evolution of normative systems and the factors that influence these changes. This knowledge could then be applied in various contexts, such as law schools and professional training programs to enhance the understanding and application of legal principles.

Supporting Law Student Wellbeing: Integrating Trauma-Informed Practices in Legal Education

Sensitive course content pervades all courses in a law degree and is one of many diverse and complex factors impacting law student wellbeing. This article defines sensitive course content and examines its effects through the lens of trauma, particularly vicarious and collective trauma. It explores two examples from Australian universities where trauma-informed practices were integrated into the legal curriculum. Incorporating trauma-informed practices offers numerous benefits: it supports the mental wellbeing of law students, enhances their employability and destigmatises conversations around this critical issue. However, implementing these practices in legal education faces challenges, such as the diversity of legal practices, institutional constraints and law school culture. Legal education providers must lead the way in mitigating the impacts of sensitive course content by integrating trauma-informed practices and conducting further research to support law student wellbeing.

Personalities of professional heroes in the musical pedagogy of the South Urals

The article continues a series of studies by the authors devoted to the consideration of the activities of famous musicians-teachers of the South Urals in the heroic paradigm – as outstanding masters who have achieved impressive results in pedagogical work, have received wide public recognition, are perceived by the professional community as a model of service to their cause and an axiological guideline for the younger generation. The purpose of this work is to present the activities of famous musical teachers of the Southern Urals in an integrative context. In this article, the personalities of outstanding teachers of the P.I. Tchaikovsky South Ural State Institute of Arts (hereinafter referred to as the Tchaikovsky Law School) - E.G. Bykov (balalaika), V.V. Kozlov (guitar), A.A. Heineman (French horn, orchestral conducting) are chosen for study. The methodology consists in using an integrated approach and synthesis of research methods in pedagogy, art history, and cognitive linguistics. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that the heroization of the personality of the teachers-musicians of the Tchaikovsky YUrGII is revealed integratively: in the didactic aspect (creation of their own outstanding pedagogical school), culturological (enrichment of cultural achievements of the region through fruitful and highly productive creative work of professional heroes), communicative (establishment of stable artistic communication with the public through creative activity of students), axiological (formation of reference principles and methods of work of a professional teacher, acting as axiological guidelines for the younger generation of musicians). The theoretical significance is expressed in a systematic and consistent study of the pedagogical heritage of outstanding masters of art of the South Urals, which allows us to enrich the history of the development of the Tchaikovsky School as one of the leading creative universities in the region. As a result of the research, the hypothesis is proved that the activities of outstanding musical teachers should be considered as a phenomenon of the spiritual culture of society in the unity of transformative, cognitive, value-oriented, communicative potential, and only integrative perception allows us to identify aspects of the glorification of personality most fully and in relief.

Moral reconciling at career launch: politics, race, and occupational choice

Abstract Recent research suggests that college-educated young adults, especially those who are politically liberal and/or racially marginalized, exhibit moral reservations about their intended occupations. How do they justify entering occupations that conflict with their morals, and with what consequences? This article examines the case of 74 mostly liberal prospective law school students from a range of racial backgrounds followed over 2 years. In interviews at career launch, respondents criticized the legal profession for its perceived perpetuation of inequality and violence. Despite their moral reservations, they articulated three occupational justification narratives for attending law school: lifting up (exceptional lawyering); leveraging out (legal education for nonlawyer aspirations); and leaning in (conscientious class mobility/maintenance). These narratives differentiate between morally ‘good’ and ‘bad’ occupational domains—a cultural-cognitive process we term moral reconciling. We theorize how moral reconciling at career launch charts young adults down different early career trajectories, with implications for occupational sorting and change.

Recommendations from the ABA Commission on Youth at Risk Convening – “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serve Children and Youth, their Families, and Communities”

AbstractYouth and families impacted by legal systems now resoundingly attest to the systems' lasting harm, echoed by interdisciplinary research. Lawyering thus requires a vastly renewed outlook, boldness, and honest inquiry about the limits of what the law and public systems can (and should) attempt as purported problem‐solving amidst broader socioeconomic forces and injustice. This report synthesizes recommendations from a groundswell of diverse, dedicated voices following an October 2023 convening hosted by the American Bar Association Commission on Youth at Risk, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law. Entitled “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serving Children and Youth, Their Families, and Communities,” the convening engaged various professionals—many with firsthand experience in foster and justice systems— and other advocates. Since the 2006 ABA Youth At Risk Initiative Planning Conference, the ABA Commission on Youth At Risk has elevated the representation and voice of youth through ethical practice standards, expanded access, and national initiatives. This report recounts findings of the 2023 convening's four working groups which met for two‐days of (often tense) discussions to chart a path for the legal profession, law, and policy for the next decade and beyond. Priorities include: transcending conceptions of youth “at risk” towards recognition of harms done, a strengths‐based lens, and lived experience leadership and expertise; cultivating next generation attorneys; prioritizing early family defense and diversion; divesting from systems and re‐investing directly with youth and families; and further eliminating racial disparities.

Mitigating emotional barriers to feedback encounters and dialogue (in law schools)

ABSTRACT This article develops a tripartite typology categorising how negative emotions act as barriers to feedback encounters and dialogue. It draws on 11 semi-structured interviews with students and staff on a non-embedded writing support initiative implemented in the Law Department at the University of Manchester. Our findings reveal negative emotions inhibit feedback dialogue in three ways: accessing written feedback; accessing feedback dialogue; and the quality of feedback dialogue. We further suggest how non-embedded writing support can mitigate these emotional barriers, highlighting the need for educators to reflect on the emotional needs of their students in feedback processes.