This article discusses the role of the hybrid field of law education and its status in South Africa. The authors suggest that, in their consideration of education law, it should be understood as the particular collection of legal rules that regulate all activities and relationships in education. These legal rules as applied in education are derived from various sources such as legislation, common law and case law. Herein they discuss why education law research is necessary, why it is challenging, and the need for globally competent education law researchers. After a review of the current status of training and research in education law in South Africa, the authors suggest a target group for the development of globally competent education law researchers and offer a development strategy for training educationists as law education researchers in this area. [For the complete Volume 13, Number 1 proceedings, see ED568595.]