Student Wellbeing Through Teacher Wellbeing : A Study with Law Teachers in the UK and Australia

• Published in: Student success Vol. 10; no. 3; pp. 76 - 83
• Main Authors: James, Colin, Strevens, Caroline, Field, Rachael, Wilson, Clare
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brisbane Queensland University of Technology Publications 15.08.2019; Queensland University of Technology; University of Southern Queensland
• Subjects: Academic staff; Attorneys; Comparative Analysis; Education; Health aspects; Higher education; Law school faculty; Law schools; Law Students; law teacher; Lawyers; Legal education; Legal Education (Professions); Neoliberalism; psychological distress; Stress (Psychology); Student welfare; student wellbeing; Surveys; Teacher stress; Teacher welfare; Teachers; University students; Well being; wellbeing; Australia; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 2205-0795; 2205-0795
• DOI: 10.5204/ssj.v10i3.1338

Research confirms law students and lawyers in the US, Australia and more recently in the UK are prone to symptoms related to stress and anxiety disproportionately to other professions. In response, the legal profession and legal academy in Australia and the UK have created Wellness Networks to encourage and facilitate research and disseminate ideas and strategies that might help law students and lawyers to thrive. This project builds on that research through a series of surveys of law teachers in the UK and Australia on the presumption that law teachers are in a strong position to influence their students not only about legal matters, but on developing attitudes and practices that will help them to survive and thrive as lawyers. The comparative analysis reveals several differences, but also many similarities with law teachers in both countries reporting negative effects from neoliberal pressures on legal education programs that impact their wellbeing, performance as teachers and ability to adequately respond to student concerns. [Author abstract]