Legal Education Research Group

The Legal Education Research Group brings together colleagues from across Sussex Law School with an interest in legal education, pedagogy and developments in higher education. Explore our ongoing work below, including events, scholarly outputs and student experience and engagement projects.

About the group

We provide a supportive space for internal discussion and collaborative projects with an interest in empirical, theoretical and practical enquiries into legal education. We are currently working on a range of projects including Authentic Assessment, Feedback, Inclusivity and Community & Belonging. We are always interested in external engagement, connection and collaboration.

Explore our ongoing work below, including events, scholarly outputs and student experience and engagement projects.

To get in touch, email one of the Group Leads:

• Verona Ní Drisceoil: V.Ni-Drisceoil@sussex.ac.uk
• Jeanette Ashton: Jeanette.Ashton@sussex.ac.uk
• Jo Wilson: J.L.Wilson@sussex.ac.uk.

• Meet our members

  Our group’s members include:

  • Jeanette Ashton
  • Paven Basuita
  • Fiona Clements
  • Mark Davies
  • Kieran Durcan
  • Hadir Elshafay
  • Gianluca Gentili
  • MaryFrances Lukera
  • Will McCready
  • Lara McMurtry
  • Verona Ní Drisceoil
  • Cath Senker
  • Teresa Sutton
  • Jo Wilson.

Publications 

Read about our published outputs.

• Journal articles and book chapters
  • Verona Ní Drisceoil (with Imogen Moore), ‘Wellbeing and transition to law school: the complexities of confidence, community, and belonging’ in Emma Jones & Caroline Strevens (eds), Wellbeing and Transitions in Law: Legal Education and the Legal Profession (Palgrave Macmillan 2023).ISBN 978-3-031-27653-8
  • Verona Ni Drisceoil, ‘Moving beyond text, embracing the visual: the Virtual Land Law Field Trip Project @ Sussex’ (2020) 55 (2) The Law Teacher 186
  • Heather McKnight, ‘The Sussex campus ‘Forever Strike’: estrangement, resistance and utopian temporality’ (2019) 5 (1) Studies in Arts and Humanities 145
  • Ben Waters and Jeanette Ashton, ‘A study into situated learning through community legal companionship’ (2018) 25 (2) International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 4
  • Mark Davies, ‘Educational background and access to legal academia’ (2018) 38 (1) Legal Studies 120
  • Mark Davies, ‘Changes to the training of English and Welsh lawyers: implications for the future of university law schools’ (2017) 52 (1) The Law Teacher 100
  • Juliet Turner, Alison Bone and Jeanette Ashton, ‘Reasons why law students should have access to learning law through a skills-based approach’ (2016) 52 (1) The Law Teacher 1.
• Conference presentations and interviews
  • Jo Wilson, ‘Reinventing Problem Questions Through Authentic Design’ Connecting Legal Education Seminar, Exploring the Why and the How of Authentic Assessment for Law, 13 September 2022
  • Jeanette Ashton, Paven Basuita and Jo Wilson, ‘”It really does help build a community and get to know the community” Peer learning at Sussex Law School’ Association of Law Teachers, Peer Learning…Through the Legal Education Looking Glass, 20 June 2022
  • Jo Wilson ‘Undertaking Authentic Assessment in Contract Law’ University of Sussex, Technology Enhanced Learning At Sussex, Case Study Interview, May 2022
  • Jeanette Ashton and Ella Moher “Making a difference through co-creation: The Sussex Law School Employability showcase”, Presentation for the Connecting LegalEd sector-wide network”, October 2021.
• Blog posts
  • Verona Ní Drisceoil, ‘Developing Authentic Assessment for Learning’ (Learning Matters Case Study, 10 January 2024).
  • Jo Wilson ‘“It equals the playing field” : Student reflections on introducing optionality as an accessible and inclusive assessment practice’ (Learning Matters Article, 3 January 2024)
  • Jo Wilson ‘Introducing Optionality in Assessment Modes’ (Learning Matters Case Study, 3 January 2024)
  • Jeanette Ashton and Kieran Durcan, “It gave me a sense of ownership”: Reflections on the participatory design of a Business Law and Practice module – Part 2 (Learning Matters Blog, 3 November 2023)
  • Jo Wilson, ‘Authentic learning through Legal Document Pack Exercises (LDPE) (Learning Matters Case Study, 23 October 2023)
  • Verona Ní Drisceoil, ‘Embedding writing into seminars as a deliberate and supportive practice’ (Learning Matters Blog, 21 July 2023)
  • Jeanette Ashton and Kieran Durcan, ‘They told us what they want, so now what?: Reflections on the participatory design of a Business Law and Practice module – part 1’ (Learning Matters Blog, January 2023)
  • Paven Basuita and Jeanette Ashton, “What’s really lacking from the academic curriculum is that practical skill which you can take forward in your legal career.” Embedding employability skills: a student perspective (Association of Law Teachers Blog, 14 December 2022)
  • Hadir Elshafay, ‘We should be more interested in curiosity than competition’ (Wonkhe, 22 June 2022)
  • Verona Ní Drisceoil, ‘The need to rethink our approach to formative assessment in Higher Education’ (Learning Matters Blog, 4 April 2022)
  • Jo Wilson and Verona Ní Drisceoil, 'Sussex Law School’s Inaugural Teaching and Learning Symposium – Teaching During Covid-19: A Challenge or an Opportunity?' Part 1 (LPS LaPSe of Reason Blog, 22 July 2021)
  • Verona Ní Drisceoil and Jo Wilson, 'Sussex Law School’s Inaugural Teaching and Learning Symposium – Teaching During Covid-19: A Challenge or an Opportunity?' Part 2 (LPS LaPSE of Reason Blog, 22 July 2021)
  • Jeanette Ashton, 'LPS 2021 Employability showcase: making a difference through co-creation’ (LPS LaPSe of Reason, 2 September 2021)
  • Jeanette Ashton and Paolo Oprandi, ‘The wheels firmly on the bus: Reflections on teaching a new module in the new normal’ (Learning Matters, 14 January 2021)
  • Verona Ni Drisceoil and Bal Sokhi-Bulley, ‘Your Teachers are Researchers: Changing the Research Culture’ (LPS LaPSe of Reason Blog, 18 Dec 2020)
  • Paven Basuita, ‘Discussion Boards: Don’t write them off just yet’ (Association of Law Teachers Blog, 29 May 2020).

Student engagement and experience projects

While we are interested in developments in higher education more broadly, a lot of the work that we do is designed to have an immediate and positive impact on student engagement and experience within Sussex Law School. Below is a selection of projects that we have worked on in recent years:

• Curriculum Review (2024)

  In early 2024 Sussex Law School embarked on a major curriculum review which has resulted in substantial changes to the structure of our Undergraduate programme. Designed with improving student experience across our two and three year programmes, changes include moving a core module to the final year, and introducing greater student choice in the second year.

• Community and Belonging (2023)

  Students’ ethnicities make a significant difference to their sense of belonging. Several studies have shown that students of colour are more likely to experience a lack of belonging than white students. This project, led by Cath Senker, explored the experience of students and draws findings to help to implement practical measures to improve the sense of belonging of students of colour alongside tracking the awarding gaps within the School of Law.

• Module mentoring pilot in the School of Law (2022/23)

  This project, run in conjunction with the central Student Experience and Engagement team, established a mentoring scheme in two core modules, where students from year 2 and 3 supported first year students.

• Law Marking Criteria Student Connector Project (2022)

  In Spring 2022, Jo Wilson and 6 Law Student Connectors embarked on a 7 week project to reconsider the SLS Undergraduate Marking Criteria. The project resulted in two key developments. First, we created clearer and more accessible level specific marking criteria to reflect the academic progression of students at different levels of study. Second, we developed a series of tools, resources and strategies to educate and inform students about key aspects of the criteria. In July 2022, this project was short-listed for a Student Social Mobility Award (Category: University Access Initiative of the Year).

• Student Connector Reading List Project (2021)

  In 2021, Teresa Sutton led a student-led review of reading lists and linked online learning materials. This resulted in a report output guiding module convenors on best practice.

• Solicitors Qualifying Exam: Planning for the future (2020)

  In 2020, Jeanette Ashton and Kieran Durcan led a project researching the implications of the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), the new route for qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales, the different options available to prepare for the SQE exams and how best to provide a clear pathway for students. This work resulted in the introduction of a Multiple Choice Question component in many of our core modules, to align with the SQE1 exam format, and the introduction of a ‘Business Law and Practice’ module at L5.This module, which has a practical focus, won a “World Readiness” award in the 2023 Sussex Education Awards. Alongside this, Sussex Law School secured a partnership with Barbri, providing SQE taster workshops and discounted fees for Sussex graduates for SQE prep courses after graduation.

• Sharing Teaching Experience Sessions (2020)

  Throughout the challenging teaching and learning environment during the Covid-19 pandemic,, Kieran Durcan hosted regular Sharing Teaching Experience sessions where teaching faculty in the law school came together to share experience, concerns and best practice. These sessions, often attended by colleagues from TEL, offered faculty an opportunity to discuss and resolve the challenges presented by the online mode of delivery and learning.

• The ‘Law’ Critique and Question Reading Group (2020/21)

  The ‘Law’ Critique and Question Reading and Writing Group ran in 2020 and 2021 and provided a space for students to come together to read, reflect and question the ‘law’ together. The focus for the Group was to consider a range of critical voices, to challenge the status quo.

• The ‘Frank Conversations about Law’ Video Project (2020)

  Jeanette Ashton worked with two of our final year LLB students and Jo o'Sullivan, Family Law Brighton, Divorce Lawyers Brighton, Cohabitation Solicitor Brighton, Family Law Lewes, Divorce Lawyers Lewes, Cohabitation Solicitor Lewes local family law practitioner and one of our CLOCK Legal Companion scheme partners, to produce a series of 'Frank Conversations about the Law' videos. These conversations address issues such as the role of AI and legal tech; diversity in the profession; learning in the time of Covid-19; hopes and fears for the future, and many more.

  Watch the ‘Frank Conversations about the Law’ videos on YouTube.

Events

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