The Challenges of Teaching Legal History to a Demographically Diverse and Educationally Under-Prepared Student Body
AbstractThe article discusses the difficulties associated with teaching law students in South Africa, a student body characterized by cultural and economic diversity. The author explains how the introduction of the four-year LLB in South African law schools in 1998 led to a re-conceptualisation of the teaching of law in the country. This Africanisation of the curriculum was said to have been aimed at producing more black lawyers. Many of these new students came from historically disadvantaged schools and were under-prepared for tertiary education. The author calls for the introduction of integrated support systems for these students, such as the introduction of smaller classes, improved teacher-student relations, and the American Supplemental Instruction programme. Such measures could ensure that the information presented in law classes was relevant and accessible to students. |