The Scottish legal education context

Paul Maharg (University of Strathclyde) sets the context for legal education in Scotland. (This page is based on articles which originally appeared in the Autumn 2000 and Spring 2001 issues of Directions.)

In Scotland the operation of law (both substantive and procedural) is different in many respects from that of England and Wales. The content of learning and teaching in Scottish law schools hence differs at a fairly fundamental level, and will continue to do so as the devolved parliament in Edinburgh produces more specifically Scottish legislation.

The history and culture of legal education in Scotland has developed out of an educational and university tradition almost 600 years old that was always distinctively different to that of England and Wales – take, for instance, the four year honours degree, a unique blend of general education and specialism. Or the ongoing discourse of democratic learning which was restated not so long ago by the claim that education in Scotland exists “not only for individual advantage and advancement, but for the good of the community as a whole” (Scottish Centre for Economic and Social Research, 1989).

Passes in university classes in Scots law became compulsory in 1926, while the full time LLB degree became the predominant route to the profession in 1961. This has helped to shape in a distinctive way the Scottish undergraduate law degree. Major changes are taking place at the postgraduate and professional stages of training. The universities, in collaboration with the Law Society of Scotland and the profession, are playing a key role in the development of professional education that is distinct from the rest of the UK. One of the major influences on the form of both the undergraduate and postgraduate regime has been the relationships obtaining between the Scottish university law schools, the Law Society and the Faculty of Advocates.

Law schools in Scottish universities have been affected by the same shaping pressures as have universities elsewhere in the UK; by government funding (or the lack of it), funding council policies, globalisation, information technology, and much else. The quality assurance process and benchmarking have left their mark on law curricula and teaching practices throughout the UK. Nevertheless, even here there are differences – Scotland has adopted a quality enhancement regime aimed at…

Teaching, learning and assessment in Scottish law schools

A 2001 UKCLE questionnaire about teaching methods in law schools revealed a variety of legal educational practice within curriculum systems still built around the backbone of a number of traditional teaching and assessment regimes:

• lectures, seminars (both used by 98% of respondents) and tutorials (90%) were the commonest methods used, while 77% of staff asked students to carry out presentations
• essays (96%) and examinations (94%) were easily the commonest forms of assessment, with dissertations third (75%) and oral presentations (58%) next; skills activities were used by 33% and group work by 29% of staff
• when asked which aspects of teaching they would like to enhance or develop the majority opted for ICT, however interest was also expressed in a number of other innovative forms of learning, such as self directed learning and group work, and in developing the more traditional forms of legal learning – perhaps an indication that staff recognise that tutorials and lectures require to be altered when used in conjunction with newer forms of teaching and learning such as the Web?
• under assessment in this question of least concern were skills-based and computer-based assessment methods, and of most interest were report writing, group working and short notes/seminar reports, and portfolio assessment

Last Modified: 27 July 2010