Johnstone, Richard; Redmond, Paul --- "The AUTC Project On Learning Outcomes And Curriculum Development in Law" [2001] UTSLawRw 3; (2001) 3 University of Technology Sydney Law Review 13

• Background and Objectives
• Research Methods
• Likely Outcomes

The AUTC Project On Learning Outcomes And Curriculum Development In Law

Richard Johnstone[1] and Paul Redmond[2]

THE LAW PROJECT commissioned by the Australian Universities

Teaching Committee (AUTC), the national body established by the Federal Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs in 2000, has the objective of improving teaching and learning in Australian universities. The project is concerned with teaching and learning and curriculum development in law. Similar projects have been commissioned in several other disciplines. The successful tender was that submitted by a group of law deans comprising—

• Professor Ned Aughterson, Dean, Faculty of Law, Northern Territory University
• Associate Professor Ian Campbell, Dean, Law School, University of Western Australia
• Mr Neville Carter, Managing Director, College of Law Pty Ltd
• Professor Paul Fairall, Head, School of Law, James Cook University of North Queensland
• Associate Professor Brian Fitzgerald, Head, School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University
• Associate Professor Tony Moore, School of Law, Flinders University of South Australia
• Professor Paul Redmond, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales (Chair) and
• Professor Ralph Simmonds, Dean, School of Law, Murdoch University.

Professor Paul Ramsden, Pro Vice Chancellor (Teaching and Learning), University of Sydney, has joined the consortium at the invitation of its members. The joint project directors are Professors Richard Johnstone (Griffith University) and Paul Redmond (University of New South Wales). They are assisted by a senior research officer based at UNSW. The project commenced in August 2001 and its first stage is due for completion in August 2002. Stage Two is concerned with dissemination of research outcomes across the sector.

Background and Objectives

The period since the Pearce Report into the discipline of law in 1987 has seen a dramatic increase in the number of Australian law schools and law students, a widening range of law graduate destinations and the growth of specialisations in law degree offerings. These developments have prompted curriculum and teaching developments such as —

• the integration of practical legal education into LLB programs at some law schools
• a greater emphasis in some law schools on incorporating elements of legal theory into the degree program
• variation in approaches to assessment methods, classroom teaching methods, and in developing teaching materials
• greater use of information technology in teaching and learning
• increased emphasis upon professional skills (e.g. client interviewing and counselling, mediation and negotiation, drafting and advocacy) and
• growth in interest in clinical legal education.

The project provides an academic stocktake of these developments. Under the terms of the AUTC project brief, the project will identify, describe and evaluate—

• the ways in which the processes of curriculum development and review have been varied and enhanced to take account of the changing circumstances facing law schools;
• the extent to which the methods of teaching and assessment have been reviewed and revised in response to changing circumstances;
• examples of best practice in teaching and learning in law, and will recommend ways of ensuring that these practices are disseminated to ensure that, where appropriate, they are adopted and adapted by other law teachers;
• the degree of awareness among students of expected learning outcomes and intended graduate attributes, and links between these and the curriculum and teaching and learning methods adopted in individual courses;
• the impact of globalisation and the new communication and information technologies on teaching and learning;
• the role of professional experience and its management within the curriculum;
• graduate employability and employer/industry satisfaction; and
• the impact of the growth in double and combined degrees and the changing balance of postgraduate to undergraduate programs.

The project is also required to provide an overall assessment of the quality of teaching and learning across the discipline of law.

Research Methods

Stage One of the project will identify, describe and analyse approaches to curriculum development and to teaching and learning in the 28 Australian law schools in the period since the 1987 Pearce report. The methods to be utilised include a literature review, a survey of deans and heads of law schools, a student survey, a survey of teaching staff, and a survey of, or series of focus groups with, key members of the legal profession and other stakeholders. The law school and law teacher surveys will be administered late in 2001.

The instrument to survey law students is still under development. The current plan is to survey a large sample of law students in the middle years of the LLB program, and to build the survey around a modified version of the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ), an instrument which has been designed to collect student opinions of teaching and assessment in a degree program. The survey instrument will be developed with the assistance of Professor Paul Ramsden, and administered in March 2002.

Amongst the developments that will be considered in the data collection phase are—

BIG PICTURE ISSUES

• How law schools have changed over the past 15 years, how they have sought to position themselves relative to other law schools, and their overall approach to legal education. To what extent has the search for distinctiveness within individual law schools led to differences in teaching and learning, and curriculum at each?
• Changes in the student body since the mid-1980s or, in the case of the newer law schools, since their formation. Issues here include the number of students in each undergraduate and graduate program, changes in the demographic composition of the student body, and changes in students’ choices of degree programs.

CURRICULUM DESIGN AND REVIEW WITHIN A LAW SCHOOL

• Who are the prospective employers of law graduates? Does the school aim to satisfy their needs? To what extent have the views and perceptions of the profession been obtained for curriculum design?
• How has the law school undergraduate and graduate curriculum changed over the past 15 years?
• What is the balance between straight LLB and combined law programs, and the interdisciplinary elements of the latter?
• What place is there in the curriculum for legal theory, ethics, ‘real world’ learning activities, training for legal practice, international and comparative perspectives, legal research training and legal skills (e.g. client interviewing, mooting, drafting etc.)
• What specialisations are offered to students in degree programs, integration with other disciplines, determination of core subjects, electives offered etc.?
• How extensive are distance education, clinical legal education, intensive courses, summer teaching, student placements, international exchange programs etc.?
• To what extent has the use of information technology been embedded in law teaching, and how successful and effective has it been?
• How has the PhD program changed since the late 1980s? What support is provided for PhD students and supervisors?

INFLUENCES ON THE CURRICULUM

• To what extent have the views and perceptions of the profession been obtained in curriculum design?
• To what extent have curriculum developments been influenced by globalisation?
• Have any other factors affected curriculum design?
• Teaching and learning
• What changes have occurred in subject design (setting of objectives, determining assessment, selecting and sequencing content, selecting teaching methods, and evaluating learning), and in institutional policies in relation to subject design?
• Are there any outstanding examples of curriculum design, subject design or teaching practices, either in the individual school, or any other law school?

SUPPORT FOR AND MANAGEMENT OF TEACHING

• How are teaching responsibilities planned and allocated?
• How is teaching assessed and appraised by academic managers; how do teachers evaluate their own teaching; how are committed and enthusiastic teachers recognised and rewarded?
• How are teachers supported (teacher training, administrative support, support from higher education support units, teaching workshops etc.)?

CONSTRAINTS ON GOOD CURRICULUM DESIGN AND TEACHING

• Are there any identifiable factors (in school, university, or government policy or external factors) which impede effective curriculum design and teaching?

Likely Outcomes

The AUTC project is concerned with broad themes and developments in legal education. It is not its function to evaluate individual law schools and their programs or to pass negative comment upon them. Indeed, except in relation to information that is in the public domain or involves a clearly positive judgment, it is not intended to identify individual law schools.

The past 15 years have been a time of unparalled change in Australian legal education. The AUTC project provides an opportunity for law teachers to reflect upon what the recent past has wrought, and the strength and limitations of responses made to new opportunities. If it is successful it will identify innovations in teaching and learning that are capable, and deserving, of wider emulation. Ultimately, its major benefits may lie in assisting Australian law teachers to learn from their peers and students.

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[1]Professor, Faculty of Law, Griffith University; Director, National Research Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, Regulatory Institutions Network, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University

[2]Dean and Professor, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales