Helen Carr and Kirsty Horsey, Kent Law School

The changing student body Less grasp of ‘traditional’ academic skills Instrumental in learning law Diversity Anxiety Less engaged / lacking cultural capital

Size of the cohort Coverage demanded by professional bodies Increasing academic specialisation and

internationalisation of research

Many benefits in students ‘not being like us’

At KLS:

Long standing commitment to innovative pedagogy

Recognised as a ‘critical’ law school – 40 years

Commitment to curriculum review as a collective endeavour

Enthusiastic and experienced first year team of teachers

Core curriculum should be intellectually challenging

Should focus on legal principles rather than coverage

Deliberate cultivation of critical thinkers and independent learners

Focus on progression

Integration of skills into the curriculum

Increased Student Diversity

University statistics (2001-8) show:

- 1480 students over two campuses at KLS

- From 58.8 – 65.1% white at UKC (lower at UKM)

- ‘Asian’ – 8.3-10.7% UKC and 12.6-17.4% UKM

- ‘Black’ – 8.6-11.2% UKC – currently 17.9% UKM

Overall uni stats in 2007-8 = 69.3% white, 7.5% ‘Asian’, 6.3% ‘Black’, 7.3% other ethnic backgrounds

Increased Student Diversity

University statistics (2001-8) show that for KLS:- UK domiciled students 65-70%- EU 11.5-18.8%- Africa 6.3-7.7%- Asia 2.8-4.3%- Middle East 0.9-1.6%- North America 2.5-5.4%- South America 0.2-0.6%

UK domiciled students for UKC as a whole = >80.8%

Increased Student Diversity

University statistics (2007-8) show that for KLS:- females outnumbered males 919-561 (54.3-45.7%)

- From 2001-8 there were 3.6-6.2% of students aged 41 or over in KLS

- between 58.9-77.4% (increasing) aged below 21

- Between 2001/2 and 2007/8 there has been an increase from around 5% to around 8% of students in KLS with a registered disability

Consequence of diversity and other changes are that students are no longer ‘like us’

Therefore: Both ‘general’ and ‘legal’ skills are explicitly taught

and assessed within modules [Separate programme of ‘extra’ skills workshops which

are tied to assessments] Skills are spiralled within modules and between stages Skills ‘matrix’ developed Requires team approach

Across stages Across subject clusters

KLS students take ‘Intro to Obligations’ (15 credits / 1 term) in Stage 1

Then ‘The Law of Obligations’ (30 credits / 2 terms) in Stage 2

The skills ‘associated’ with Intro to Obs:

Reading cases

Understanding development of private/common law

Understanding concepts of precedent etc

A new type of class:

Lectures, seminars and case classes

Case packs available in advance

‘Contrasting’ cases in some way

4 over course of term (2 tort, 2 contract)

Groups of 40-50

Interactive

Reinforced with seminar questions / case notes

What of ‘spiralling’? More (different) case classes in Foundations of

Property (this term)

Next year: The Law of Obligations Case law as primary vehicle for teaching

Small seminar groups alternated with fortnightly case class of c.30 students

Use made of dissenting judgments, submissions of counsel (and tracking argument and outcome), cases blocked by precedent, HL (SCt) overturning its own decisions etc

Focus on political theory so that students can understand the role of law within a liberal democracy

Plato to NATO with a post-colonial twist!

Different constitutions considered

French revolutionary constitutions

Haitian revolutionary constitutions

South Africa’s constitution

Gradual development of writing skills

Writing task with short answers

Short essay

Exam included

Definitions of key public law concepts

Comprehension of a previously studied academic article

One traditional essay

Aim was to provide the foundations for further study

• Broad theme of the changing relationship between government and the citizen

• Core introduces theoretical explanations through medium of contemporary problems

• HFEA – how does law regulate scientific advance?• Welfare support for asylum seekers – how does the

state use the law to manage its international and domestic obligations and how does the law resist?

• Black letter law skills are assessed through analysis of legal developments

• Guest expert lectures

• Research active staff lead seminars

• After the core they teach to their specialisms

• Students produce guided independent research based essays

• Aim to provide an opportunity to use theory within the study of law– The future appears ungovernable. Legislation and regulatory schemes can

hardly keep up with the speed of scientific and technological developments. The real problem, however, is the loss of any grounds for social consensusDiscuss

– The state has shifted from referring to gambling in terms of vice to terms of responsibility. What does this language imply for the relationship between the state and the citizen? What is the current role of public law in ensuring responsibility in the case of gambling, and do you think it is adequate?

• Reading texts

• Reading in different ways

• Writing and research

– Legal problem plus research journal

– Submission of plan

– Every student given individual feedback

– They must reflect upon that feedback in their submitted essay

– Research journal

Curriculum review must be a continual, reflexive and reflective process a collective endeavour

Optional modules? Include students Requires different resources

Skills spiralling must be explicit (to both staff and students) Skills matrix constantly being developed It must be communicated appropriately Well and appropriately resourced