A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

Enhancing learning in legal education
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4 Obligations
5 Property law
6 Equity and the Law of Trusts
Students are also expected to have received training in legal research.
Beyond specification of the subject areas that constitute a qualifying law degree, there
are no requirements set with regard to the delivery or assessment of the degree course.
However, despite what seems to be relatively light-touch regulation, there is a persistent
concern among law schools about what the professional bodies might be inclined to do
to strengthen their influence should they perceive that standards are slipping. There has
been a tendency in the past for the professional bodies to focus on the academic stage
when vocational providers and law firms make adverse comments about the qualities and
abilities of law graduates. This concern about standards has inclined the professional
bodies to advocate traditional pedagogic approaches, particularly in relation to
assessment. This advocacy has been influential and perhaps chimes with the natural
conservatism of the subject and those who teach it. Thus, at undergraduate level the
lecture/tutorial format accompanied by closed-book examination remains the
predominant approach. The challenge for those seeking to innovate has been to
demonstrate that new approaches are no less rigorous and testing than more traditional
approaches to teaching and assessment.
Law Subject Benchmark Statement
In the context of seeking to establish a distinct identity for the discipline, the subject
benchmarking exercise which was undertaken in 2000 represented an opportunity for
the academic community itself to articulate both the defining characteristics of the
discipline and the academic qualities expected of a law graduate. However, the published
statement does not delve into the fractious questions about the distinctiveness of the
subject and focuses only on certain features of ‘graduateness’. For the purposes of law
these have been defined as: subject-specific knowledge; application and problem-solving;
ability to use sources and research together with the ability to analyse and synthesise,
exercise critical judgement and evaluation; demonstrate autonomy and the ability to
learn. The Benchmark Statement was revised in 2006 with only minor amendments being
made. In terms of the graduate characteristics identified, however, while they may seem
relatively generic, it may be argued that law as a discipline is perhaps particularly suited
to their development, providing fertile soil for a range of pedagogical approaches.
Both the Joint Statement and the Law Subject Benchmark Statement emphasise the
acquisition of legal knowledge. However, an overcrowded curriculum is often cited as a
deterrent to adding new topics or indeed to developing new forms of teaching and
assessment. Given that in many areas of law the content changes rapidly, an approach
which enables students to learn and update their own knowledge, while developing the
skills and abilities identified in the Benchmark Statement, is more likely to result in an
engaging and satisfying learning experience for all concerned.