The discourse around student wellness is a marked feature of the 21st century Australian legal academy. It has resulted in various initiatives on the part of law schools, including the development of a national forum. The phenomenon relates to psychological distress reported by students through surveys. Proposed remedies tend to focus on improving…

Empirical evidence in Australia and overseas has established that in many university disciplines, students begin to experience elevated levels of psychological distress in their first year of study. There is now a considerable body of empirical data that establishes that this is a significant problem for law students. Psychological distress may…

This qualitative study investigated the role of competition in the success and distress of law students. Participants from an Australian law faculty attended one of four focus groups (undergraduate, postgraduate, academic staff and administrative staff). They discussed their perceptions of competition, the competitive behaviours in law students,…

Australian higher education institutions are increasingly operating within broader political, economic and social frameworks and the global context. The link between productivity and high level skills and qualifications and the importance of establishing a systematic process for ensuring increased participation of those from under-represented…

Developments in legal education in Papua New Guinea are examined and the efforts to meet the challenge of the International Legal Center to produce "new kinds of law-trained people" are analyzed. In recent years a conscious effort has been made to produce an entirely new approach to legal education. (MLW)

A 1986 survey of first-year law students in four Australian universities provides a profile of student characteristics, including sex, age, course type (law only or combined), full- or part-time enrollment status, educational background, income, parental education and income, marital status, residence, and personal contact with others in the legal…