NCJ Number
74374
Date Published
1980
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses different roles for law teachers and describes different qualifications for these teachers according to the settings in which they teach (e.g., law schools, or schools in which courses about the law are part of the curriculum).
Abstract
The teachers at Australian law schools have traditionally been lawyers. A law degree is also required to teach service courses to accountants, media people, nurses, and other professionals in nonlegal fields. On the other hand, high school teachers of law have little or no formal law training. A legal studies boom is currently occurring in Australian high schools, but an insufficient number of qualified law teachers is available to meet the requirements of legal education outside the traditional law degree courses. The academic credentials and training of such teachers should include licensing as teachers and good knowledge of the law and its primary sources for legal research purposes. Two new Graduate Diploma courses are offered by the Canberra College of Advanced Education, one of which is in Legal Studies. Their object is to give teachers enough knowledge of and competence in legal matters so that they can educate students and community members to deal with law-related issues affecting them as individuals and as citizens.