Supporting the psychological well-being of our first year students and reducing stress for ourselves

Rachael Field Associate Professor, QUT Law School ALTC Fellow 2010 CRICOS No. 00213J

Queensland University of Technology

Introduction

• In 2010 I received an ALTC Fellowship to work on strategic change in the legal curriculum to promote psychological well-being in law students. • The Fellowship responded to recent Australian research identifying that the psychological health of law students is a critical issue for Australian legal education.

• A study of the Brain and Mind Research Institute released in 2009 was one of the first empirical Australian studies to establish that more than one third of Australian law students suffer from psychological distress (BMRI, 2009).

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Psychological Health of Tertiary Students in other Disciplines

• The research of Helen Stallman and others indicates that concern about the psychological well-being of students is a tertiary sector issue (not limited to specific disciplines such as law).

• See, for example, materials available at the National Mental Health in Tertiary Education Forum website from 2011.

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Outline of Today’s Forum

• • • Discussion about the First Year in Higher Education Conference and its special interest group on the psychological well-being of students.

Presentation of the findings of my ALTC Teaching Fellowship.

Small group discussion about different curriculum strategies to support the psychological well-being of our students and to reduce our stress levels as well.

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FYHE Special Interest Group on the Psychological Well-Being of Students

• • • • • • Established in 2012.

Co-convened by Dr Helen Stallman of UniSA.

Keynote speaker in 2012: Dr Helen Stallman.

Keynote speaker in 2013: Associate Prof Jacky Cranney of UNSW.

A Forum to share good practice and innovations.

Also a Forum to share experience and mutual commitment to student well-being.

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Psychological Health of Law Students

• Academics have anecdotally acknowledged that law school is a place where students experience high levels of psychological distress. • The US the literature has acknowledged this for some time. See Watson, 1968; Beck & Burns, 1979, Benjamin et al, 1986, Daikoff, 1994.

• • • • • • In 2009, the Brain and Mind Research Institute of the University of Sydney (BMRI, 2009) empirically established that Australian law students suffer disproportionately high levels of psychological distress. This research has been affirmed by: Leahy et al - 2010 Hall, Townes O’Brien and Tang – 2011 Larcombe, Nicholson and Malkin – 2011 Lester, England and Antolak-Saper - 2011

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In what ways does student psychological distress manifest itself?

• The symptoms of psychological distress identified in the literature include: – – – – – – – – feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, anxiety, hostility, paranoia, social alienation isolation obsessive compulsive behaviour, and depression,

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What are the possible causes?

• The are a range of possible contributing factors. For example: • • • • • The personality type of students who choose to study law (Daikoff, 1994).

The competitive and adversarial nature of both legal education and legal culture (BMRI).

Law students are often extrinsically motivated (Vines et al - UNSW) Students’ thinking skills shift to a linear/rational approach at law school and students lack a sense of professional identity (Hall et al – ANU).

Australasian Survey of Student Engagement Report

(AUSSE) - a lack of engagement in law students?

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Psychological Health of Legal Practitioners

• • • The issue is a significant one for the profession also (Thomson, 2007). The BMRI Report indicated that one in three solicitors experiences high to very high levels of psychological distress, although barristers’ levels are lower at one in five. The Legal Services Commissioner for Queensland says that emotional distress features in 30% of the disciplinary matters dealt with by his Commission (Britton, 2009).

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The Problems Begin in the First Year of Legal Education

• The literature suggests that psychological distress is experienced as a direct result of the way the law and legal culture

are taught

(Britton, 2009; Stuckey et al., 2007; Hall et al 2011). • • • Benjamin et al. found in 1986 that symptoms of psychological distress rose significantly for students in their first year of law (compared to levels in the general population at that time), and persisted throughout the degree to post-graduation. Iijima (1998) also asserts that the problems ‘begin during the first semester of law school’.

• This has been affirmed in Australia by recent research at the ANU College of Law, Melbourne University and Monash University.

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An Imperative for Action.

• The BMRI note that ‘mental illness and psychological distress are often portrayed in the popular media as issues relating to individuals’ (2009). • The psychological health of law students is ‘a problem for communities’ (2009).

• Discussions with Law Schools centred on awareness raising and our ethical duty to our students.

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An Imperative for Action

• It is an ethical responsibility of tertiary educators to work to ameliorate the high levels of distress experienced by our students. • We might also consider it to be an issue related to our duty of care to the students, or to the fact that there are elements of a fiduciary relationship with them. • Kath Hall (2009) notes that the legal academy must overcome its cognitive dissonance, as well its rationalisation tendencies, on this issue.

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An Imperative for Action

• • • The psychological well-being of academic and professional staff.

Our own well-being will be supported if our students are less anxious and stressed, and if they develop better coping skills and resilience.

For example, students who are well can engage better, manage their own independent learning, manage their time, process feedback more constructively.

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Aim of the Fellowship

To stimulate advancement in

the legal curriculum, its pedagogy, and assessment practice

to

better engage, motivate and support student learning of law,

focussing on the potential of

non-adversarial legal practice

.

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ALTC Fellowship

• • • • The Fellowship’s program of activities included approaches aimed at: 1.

Raising awareness

in the legal academy of the importance of law student psychological health. 2.

Persuading

the legal academy to

accept the need for strategic change

in legal education, and the efficacy of the

proposed approaches for achieving that change

. 3.

Modeling

good curriculum and assessment practice that

engages, motivates and supports students

.

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A Focus on the Curriculum

• A broad definition of curriculum is necessary to acknowledge the range of activities currently in place at different law schools.

• • My ALTC Fellowship focused on a narrower definition of ‘curriculum’ – what we teach, how we teach it and how we assess it.

Hess notes that legal academics have not capitalised on the opportunities presented by the legal curriculum (in the narrower sense) to address psychological distress.

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Australian Law School Activities

• A range of diverse activity in response to the BMRI and other research is taking place at law schools around Australia.

– – Peer Mentoring Assistant Dean Student Well-Being – – Resilience Workshops Empirical Research • Links with Threshold Learning Outcomes for Law – especially TLO 6 on self-management.

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Key themes for law curriculum reform arising from research for the Fellowship:

• Student psychological well-being can be supported through the curriculum by promoting: – – – – – – – – – Engagement Collaboration Autonomy Motivation (intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic) Threshold concepts and skills Reflective practice The development of a positive professional identity Resilience, hope and optimism Including ethics and ADR in the first year curriculum.

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Self-determination theory and positive psychology

• Autonomy • Competence • Relatedness

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LWB150 – Lawyering and Dispute Resolution

• First year elective.

• Enrolments of 200-300 every year it has been offered since 2011.

• In 2014 a new core compulsory first year uniton dispute resolution will replace it.

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Engagement strategies

• Support the autonomy and relatedness components of SDT.

• Harness Laurillard’s conversational framework in the class-room.

• Co-lecturing model: active, responsive, models engagement, models academic robust analysis, debate and interaction, models appropriate and safe methods of questioning and interrogation.

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Threshold concepts and skills

• Support the competence element of SDT.

• Students pass through a portal of understanding with a foundational base for knowledge, skills and attitude development in a discipline.

• For law these include: Advocacy, dispute resolution, and thinking like a lawyer – legal reasoning and critical thinking.

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Development of a positive professional identity

• Relates to competence and autonomy elements of SDT theory.

• • • Harnesses intrinsic motivation for learning.

Supports engagement.

In law this can involve a focus on upholding the rule of law, dispute resolution and non adversarial advocacy and ethics.

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Reflective Practice

• • • Supports autonomy, competence and relatedness elements of SDT.

4Rs model of reflective practice.

– – – – Reporting Relating Reasoning Reconstructing.

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Discussion of the Practical Application of these Strategies to your Discipline Area in Small Groups

• • • • Student engagement through a conversational framework approach in the classroom.

Teaching of threshold concepts in your discipline.

Promotion of a positive professional identity in your discipline.

Use of reflective practice in your assessment methods.

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Wellness for Law Network

• • • See: www.adrforum2012.com

and http://wellnessforlaw.com/forums/forum_201 3/program/ Also wellnessforlaw.com.

Resources on TJMF site: www.tjmf.org.au

And Twitter: @WellnessForLaw

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Thank you!

• Questions and discussion.

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