Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness : promoting law student well-being through a first year law subject


Autoria(s): Field, Rachael M.; Duffy, James
Data(s)

2012

Resumo

Australian law teachers are increasingly recognising that psychological distress is an issue for our students. This article describes how the Queensland University of Technology Law School is reforming its curriculum to promote student psychological well-being. Part I of the article examines the literature on law student psychological distress in Australia. It is suggested that cross-sectional and longitudinal studies undertaken in Australia provide us with different, but equally important, information with respect to law student psychological well-being. Part II describes a subject in the QUT Law School - Lawyering and Dispute Resolution – which has been specifically designed as one response to declines in law student psychological well-being. Part III then considers two key elements of the design of the subject: introducing students to the idea of a positive professional identity, and introducing students to non-adversarial lawyering and the positive role of lawyers in society as dispute resolvers. These two areas of focus specifically promote law student psychological well-being by encouraging students to engage with elements of positive psychology – in particular, hope and optimism.

Formato

application/pdf

Identificador

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/50200/

Publicador

Queensland University of Technology

Relação

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/50200/2/50200.pdf

http://ljj.law.qut.edu.au/editions/v12n1/pdf/Fin2_Field%20and%20Duffy_Final%20Revised%20(4).pdf

Field, Rachael M. & Duffy, James (2012) Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness : promoting law student well-being through a first year law subject. Queensland University of Technology Law and Justice Journal, 12(1), pp. 133-156.

Direitos

Copyright 2012 The Authors & Queensland University of Technology

Fonte

Faculty of Law; School of Law

Palavras-Chave #180100 LAW #law student well-being #psychological distress #depression #anxiety #resilience #curriculum #hope #optimism #positive professional identity #HERN
Tipo

Journal Article