Researcher Development Programme Interns join Legal Studies in Schools Project
Susannah Paul and Robbie Reid, both PhD students in the School of Law, have been appointed as interns to support the ongoing Legal Studies in Schools Project (LSS), being conducted by Professor Jane Mair and Felicity Belton.
University of Glasgow Researcher Development Programme Interns take part in paid part time internships which provide relevant workplace experience, allowing students to develop a range of key transferable skills as they support academic staff completing exciting and innovative research.
The LSS Project is investigating the possibilities for introducing the study of law into schools. Unlike other countries, such as Australia and the USA, Scotland does not currently provide this as part of the curriculum. The social and political perspectives of law are included in the Modern Studies curriculum but legal knowledge is not usually addressed until tertiary levels of education. This is in direct contrast to, for example, Australia, where a full two year programme in Legal Studies is available in High School. This includes legal units such as contract, torts, criminal and family law, plus opportunities to research a specific area of interest. Students taking the subject are not necessarily going to study law when they leave school. Many may be looking to eventual employment in the social and justice sector, such as police or social work. Others regard it as a useful subject for their future, as law is involved in many areas of employment, such as medicine, construction and business.
Professor Jane Mair has a longstanding interest in legal education, far beyond the confines of Higher Education. Whether working with primary school pupils, devising activities for summer school pupils, developing materials to support the University’s REACH programme or, more recently, developing a board game intended to promote public understanding of family law, she is always looking for opportunities to enhance wider understanding of law and its implications.
Felicity Belton has experience of teaching Legal Studies in schools in Australia, teaching year 11 and 12 students for nearly a decade and serving on Education Queensland’s Legal Studies exam panel, moderating assessment submissions and work programmes. She has also taught HND/C legal units at college level and the Access to Law course at University of Glasgow. She is committed to increasing access to Legal Studies in schools, given her positive experience in Australia.
For both Jane and Felicity, the opportunity to work with Paul Hamilton of Clydebank High School (CHS) as he introduced Legal Studies for CHS pupils in session 2020/21, has been an exciting first step in what they hope will become a wider project.
The Clydebank project involves the teaching of NPA Legal Studies by Paul Hamilton to sixth year students. Legal resources and support are provided by Jane and Felicity. Data will be gathered on the positives of the project and on what needs to be developed further. Both the students and the teacher will provide their reflections on the experience. Outcomes and destinations for the students will also be relevant in understanding why pupils may choose to study law at school and what benefits they may gain. Early signs are that other schools may follow the CHS lead by introducing Legal Studies in session 2021/22 and beyond..
The LSS project is only one element of the School of Law’s commitment to widening access and to an inclusive approach to legal education. It links specifically to an exciting new accessibility project, situated within the School’s Law Workshop (our specialist library) The Community Outreach Lending Law Library project will commence next semester following a grant from the Scottish Library and Information Council. The involvement of school students on the LSS project was a key component in The Community Outreach Lending Law Library project aims of:
‘ supporting the health and well-being of young people by creating a greater sense of community and belonging. Promoting collaboration by reaching out to the wider community and creating a resource of diverse texts which focus on marginalised groups’
It is hoped that Legal Studies groups from Clydebank and other schools joining the LSS project, will be able to utilise the facilities of the Workshop to further their studies and access relevant resources and presentations.
LSS Interns, Susannah and Robbie, will support the work of the academics by contributing to both the practical and academic aspects of the project, such as data input and reviewing the literature. Reflecting on her new role Susannah observed ‘ It is very exciting to be working in an inspiring team of academics, teachers who are passionate about increasing access to law.’ Similarly, Robbie added ‘ Educating school students about the law is so important. It not only promotes further legal study and widens access to related careers, but it also equips young people with valuable knowledge about the law and their rights’
Jane and Felicity are happy to have Susannah and Robbie as part of the team. They have no doubt that the project will benefit from the skills Susannah and Robbie bring and they hope that they will in turn benefit as early career researchers from this experience.
