Developing Graduate Skills& Reflection in Law

Ruby HammerFaculty of Business, Education and Law

Introduction – Background

• 2011-12 Law School reviewed delivery of law curriculum as part of Staffordshire Graduate Employability Project.

• Number of challenges presented:

- balance between essential legal skills and generic skills

- responding to challenges facedby the legal profession and a changing world

- staff training and engagement

Responding to the ChallengesWhat does being a Graduate mean?

“Traditionally a 'graduate job' has meant a job or career path for which a degree is the required entry level qualification. But today it might be more appropriate to define a graduate job as 'a job that a graduate does‘”.

http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/WoW/students/98073.htm

The Changing Nature of Graduate Employment and Lifelong Success

The 21st century graduate is more likely to:

• Need much more than academic qualifications to progress their career

• To take an ordinary, non-graduate job, prior to securing ‘graduate level’ employment.

• Likely to work for several employers during their working life and have ‘portfolio’ of different careers drawing upon wide range of transferrable skills.

• Will re-enter higher education, most likely on a part-time basis, to engage with further study not necessarily in same discipline.

The Changing Nature of Graduate Recruitment

Equally, graduate recruiters increasingly:

• Recruit from work placements, internships, and internal non-graduate level jobs.

• Greater focus on assessment exercises and tests as part of recruitment process.

• It is estimated that less than half of jobs are actually formally advertised, the rest gained by networking, entrepreneurial activity, etc..

• Globalisation requires change in way many organisations operate and corporate social responsibility is increasingly an important issue.

© depositphotos.com

Recognising and Responding to Student Needs

• No such thing as a standard student – all have individual needs and requirements.

• However, there are some common problems experienced by students in widening participation institutions:

- Many lack professional connections with law firms and/or graduate recruiters

- Often lack confidence in networking situations

- Often have weaker A level grades which can be an issue in era of online applications

The Staffordshire Graduate Project

Opportunity to refresh existing practices.....

• Greater emphasis placed on reflection – workshops on reflection built into timetable early.

• Practical workshops based around contextual themes – alternative business structures, business acumen and corporate social responsibility.

• External speakers used to provide ‘perspectives’ on themes.

• Range of ‘events’ built into the curriculum both within Skills modules and across other subjects.

Level 4 and Level 5 Modules

Level 4:

Legal Skills

Operates across all Law awards

Level 5:

Legal Enterprise and Innovation

(2 Year Degree Pilot)

To be rolled out as Law in

Context Module across 3 & 4 Year

Law Awards

Good Practice.....

• Draw upon skills and experience of central services such as careers team, information services and academic skills tutors.

• Build reflection into programme at the earliest opportunity

• Use time during start of course/welcome week to front-load key information/skills

• Create events for students both within and outside the curriculum

• Provide practical opportunities as opposed to just guest lectures

Utilise Research Informed Teaching

• Draw upon existing research strengths within department.

• Create ‘space’ for tutors to talk about their specialisations and the impact on law and society and a changing profession or discipline.

• Example: ‘The Future of the Profession’Workshop

Developing StaffordshireGraduate Events

Launch Event:Law School Careers Fair

Several exhibitors including external firms and professional organisations

Over 100 students attended to develop networking skills and find out more about career opportunities

Student involvement by employability champion and organisations

Promoted as Staffordshire Graduate event

Law School Careers Fair October, 2012

Careers Workshops

Workshop

• Becoming a Solicitor

• Becoming a Barrister

• How to get the best from Work Experience

• What to do with a Law Degree?

• Careers in HR Management

• Careers in Research

Events within the Curriculum

- Debates

- Mooting (mock trial)

- Client interviewing- Contextualised employability tutorials

- Poster presentations

- Online activities- team working activities- Formative assessment of personal statements

- guest speakers within timetable- promotion of work experience and voluntary work

- Negotiation exercises

- Networking Lunches/Breakfast Meetings

Further References

Articles & Texts

 

Abramson, M. and Jones, P. (2004) ‘Empowering Under-Represented Students to Succeed in Higher Education’ in Saunders, D., Brosnan, K. and Walker, M. (eds) Learning Transformations: Changing Learners, Organisations and Communities. London: Forum for the Advancement of Continuing Education.

 

Brown, P., Hesketh, A. and Williams, S. (2002) Employability in a knowledge-driven economy. In Knight, P. (compiler) Notes from the 13 June 2002 'Skills plus' conference, Innovation in education for employability, held at Manchester Metropolitan University. Available at: www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/resources/wrkgpaper26.pdf

Graham-Matheson, L. (2002) Recruitment and retention in legal education

Consortium for Access to Legal Education: UK Centre for Legal Education, www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/wp/matheson.html

 

Lucas, Cox, Croudance & Milford, ‘Who Writes This Stuff?’ : Students perceptions of their skill development. (2004), Teaching in Higher Education, 9 (1)

 

Yorke, M. (reprinted 2006) Employability in Higher Education: what it is – what it is not. York: Higher Education Academy

 

Yorke, M., and Knight, P. (2004, reprinted 2006) Embedding Employability into the Currculum. York: The Higher Education Academy. Available from: www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/publications/learningandemployability

 

Further References

Reports

 

Higher Education: Report of the Committee

L. Robbins, London, HMSO, Cmnd 1963

 

The National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education

R. Dearing, London, HMSO, Cmnd 1997

 

Leitch Review of Skills: Final Report (2006)

Prosperity for all in the global economy – world class skills

 

The Future of Higher Education Review

J. Denham, 2007

[on-line at http://www.dius.gov.uk/higher_education/shape_and_structure/he_debate]

 

Future of Higher Education Review: informal responses from members of the National Student Forum, 2008

[on-line at http://www.dius.gov.uk/higher_education/shape_and_structure/he_debate]

 

The White Paper: Innovation Nation

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills

March 2008, Cm 7345