Educational organizations are being impacted by the growing need for sustained student mental wellness support. Student populations are increasingly diverse and bring varied life experiences, challenges outside of the classroom, and additional stressors to their academic programs. In some educational contexts, such as legal education, the nature…

This research retells the stories of seven Black women with natural Black hair and hair texture during the construction of their professional identities while enrolled in medical and law school. This is the first study to explore the relationship between identity associated with Black hair and hair texture and the professional identity while…

The COVID-19 pandemic affected both how instructors taught their courses and how students learned in those courses. The delivery of law school instruction online in America at this scale had never occurred. This study sought to understand how American law students experienced this pivot by analyzing how those students experienced the Socratic…

First-generation (FG) students comprise an increasing population that has been studied at the undergraduate level. Extensive empirical research is available on FG undergraduate behaviors, challenges, and support programs. However, little research traces their experiences through to graduate study, a line of inquiry especially needed for FG…

This qualitative descriptive case study delves into the effectiveness of academic support programs (ASPs) for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) law schools, focusing on enhancing academic performance and passing the bar exam. The underrepresentation of minority lawyers in the United States, which is attributed partly…

U.S. law students are a population whose mental health issues do not receive much clinical focus and few empirical studies have focused on this population. Law students are thought to have higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues that increase in severity, to increased substance use and suicidality, as they…

In order to provide effective career and professional development services for law students, law schools must build a better understanding of whether student engagement with school-provided career services bears a relationship to post-graduate employment success. The following research examined the relationship between law student engagement with…

This study investigated the effect of American Bar Association (ABA) 301-6 on minority enrollment at ABA accredited law schools. The Interpretation sets limits on bar passage rates that schools must adhere to in order to retain accreditation. Citing the historically poorer performance of minority students on bar exams and standardized tests, it…

This study applies the conceptual framework of Positive Deviance, the theoretical framework of critical race theory, and the lens of marronage to understand the problem of low Black student enrollment at one American Bar Association accredited law school. The purpose of this study was to understand what current Black law students perceive to be…

Legal educators are routinely banning students' laptops or wireless connectivity in law classes. Faculty assumes students are significantly off-task and in-class laptops are harmful to learning. Current research focuses almost exclusively on undergraduate students technology uses in- and out of the classroom. Only a handful of studies objectively…

Currently in the United States, there are far more mentally ill individuals in jails and prisons than in mental hospitals or other treatment facilities. Stigma toward this population presents as a major barrier to eradicating this indictment, yet research has shown that education can help to reduce stigma and, in turn, possibly decreasing the…

Using a case study methodology with descriptive and qualitative techniques at a major law school in the South, this research study explored factors that contribute to the perceived pedagogical value of wiki technology in legal education, as well as attitudes and perceptions of law faculty and students regarding the effectiveness of using wikis as…

Research on post-graduate performance, pertaining to law school graduates, indicates that success in the legal profession is attributable to more than the theoretical content or cognitive knowledge obtained through educational curricula. Research suggests that the combination of creative and analytic thinking skills contributes to a higher rate of…

This dissertation interrogates the experiences of Asian American and Latino law students, as racialized second-generation, children of immigrants entering an elite profession. Intersecting immigration, race and ethnicity, and professional socialization literature, I compare the students' experiences across race, gender, socioeconomic…

The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge and perceptions of final year law students at Historically Black Law Schools (HBLS) regarding defendants with intellectual disabilities. The four domains investigated were - knowledge, social willingness, affect, and previous contact. Also explored were the perceptions of final year law…