Fostering Law Student Wellbeing through Co-Creation : what do students want from their departmental student support?

Hughes-Gerber, Laura and McGuirk, Noel (2024) Fostering Law Student Wellbeing through Co-Creation : what do students want from their departmental student support? In: Exploring Inclusion and Wellbeing Initiatives in Legal Education and Practice, 2024-06-07 - 2024-06-07, University of Leeds.

Abstract

This lightning talk examines the key themes from our ongoing co-creation project at Lancaster University, which aims to integrate the student voice into the design of our student support system using focus groups. Each group considered a fictitious student persona, with participants considering how their Law School should respond to a range of common issues experienced by students throughout their degree. The first emerging theme concerned the design of the law school community where participants emphasised the desire for a closer connection to their lecturers and peers, fostered through mentoring, study groups, study buddies, student interest groups and further opportunities for dialogue. Several barriers were identified in this regard, including student intimidation. The second theme concerned student wellbeing, centring on promoting a healthy work-life balance. The importance of signposting to university student support processes was a key concern. The participants also highlighted the pressing need to increase student awareness of and the transparency of university and departmental support processes. This involved simple steps, such as Academic Advisor signposting and using the technology available in lecture theatres and the Law School. Ultimately, this lightning talk aims to start a conversation about integrating student voice into student wellbeing initiatives in legal education which we hope to continue further in the context of today’s event.