Aboriginal Law Bulletin
|
|
Home
| Databases
| WorldLII
| Search
| Feedback
Aboriginal Law Bulletin |
|
Between 8 January and 8 February 1996, the Law School at Griffith University[1] conducted a bridging course or pre-law course for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students intending to commence studying law in the 1996 academic year.[2] The course ran for five weeks full-time. The aims of the course were various, and included:
The Griffith Pre-Law Program was designed after consultation with past and present Indigenous students of law, the Gumurri Centre,[3] members of the wider community, and teachers and academics who had experience in educating Indigenous students at law school. While there are other universities in Australia that have run such courses,[4] the literature about the design, implementation and even experience of comparative programs in Australia is scarce. Certainly, in Australia at least, these types of programs are still very much in the experimental stages, whilst their design and implementation is in its infancy.[5] This article is written in order to share the Griffith experience with the broader interested community. A similar program will be run in early 1997 at this university.
In 1990 and 1991 Daniel Lavery carried out a survey of what Australian law schools were doing in this area.[6] His article gives an informative background to the development of bridging courses and pre-law programs in Canada. Similar courses have been run in Canada for some time[7] and appear to be having some successful outcomes, ie more Indigenous law students succeeding at law school. This is the backdrop to the gradual introduction of similar programs into Australian universities.
The Griffith Law School began in 1992, and since that time has operated a discretionary entrance scheme for Indigenous students. The scheme bypasses the standard entry requirements, and students are for the most part assessed by an interview panel.[8] The Griffith Law School is strongly committed to fostering the success of Indigenous law students. Major new areas of law have a large impact on Indigenous people and their communities. Areas such as native title, environmental and resources law are becoming increasingly important.
Areas such as family law and criminal law continue to effect disproportionate numbers of Indigenous people and their families. The Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommended that Aboriginal viewpoints, interests, perceptions and expectations be reflected in the curricula, teaching and administration of schools at all levels.[9] In order to properly serve the community, the demographic of law school graduates should reflect the diversity of Australian culture. Obviously, to accurately reflect society, universities need to ensure that more Indigenous students are successful in their law studies.
Nine Indigenous students were accepted through the alternate entry scheme to commence law studies at Griffith University in 1996. An interesting feature of this group was that they were all women. This probably sets the particular course apart from other similar courses which have been run previously in Australia. It is the writer's view that the course was particularly `successful' because of this factor. Success is always difficult to gauge, but certainly the group were willing from the early stages of the course to discuss issues openly, and they approached cultural issues with enthusiasm. In future courses there may be merit in retaining such segregation in at least some parts of the course. This may mean separating into two gender specific groups from time to time, to carry out some of the course tasks. Generally community guidelines in Indigenous culture circumscribe the discussion of `women's business' or `men's business' with members of the opposite sex.[10] Some gender segregation during the course would create a more culturally appropriate forum for students to discuss certain issues, and hence to develop confidence.[11]
For most of the period of the course the writer, as the coordinator of the program, was in attendance. This brought a continuity to the course which was particularly valuable in the early weeks, whilst the students developed confidence of their place in the student group, with the coordinator, and in the university environment. Many Indigenous students do not have a strong support network when they commence law studies, which may help to explain the traditionally poor success rate of Indigenous people.[12] Increasing the confidence of the students was the major thread running through the design of the course, the belief being that if confidence is greater, success in formal studies is more likely to follow. Many activities, especially in the early weeks, were designed to encourage participation and involvement in the course.
Part of the method employed to increase students' confidence was to provide a basic introduction to the course material and skills they would tackle in the first year law course. For this purpose, competence in the use of the library and information technology was seen to be important, and many hours of the course were spent in learning practical skills associated with library use. Classes were also conducted in the library so that the students would develop a familiarity with both the library staff and with the library environment itself. Case analysis was an important aspect of the course, and several inter-related cases were studied during the program. Although most of the cases looked at are not studied further in the mainstream first year course, the concepts raised by them will reappear in the first year. The students thus have a headstart in this regard.
Guests[13] invited to talk to the students included legal practitioners, academics, and others in the community who have an association with or interest in law, for example trained mediators. The purposes of inviting guests into the program were various. Some were invited to explain particular legal concepts such as international law or the function legislation; others to bring ideas about the work possibilities of a career associated with law; and still others to bring an Indigenous cultural perspective to the value and purpose of studying law. Again, the main objective was to inspire personal confidence, and through this confidence, enhance the motivation to complete law studies. The speakers all indicated their availability to act as a resource to students. Thus, the students completed the course with a broader range of contacts, and therefore a larger support network.
Throughout the course we attempted to teach conceptual ideas through practical tasks. For example, the notion of court hierarchy and the doctrine of precedent were taught with the aid of visits to courts and meetings with judges and magistrates. The concept of a legal language was raised whilst hearing members of courts employ that language. The notion that there are different views of what law means and how it should be used was illustrated by visits to community legal centres and hearing from diverse members of the legal profession.
Where possible, culturally specific examples were used to demonstrate ideas. For example, the different sources of law and and their interconnections were demonstrated by showing the links between Indigenous customs and the Mabo [No.2] case,[14] and this piece of common law to international law and treaties,[15] and to legislation (the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth)). Articles with particular cultural relevance were often used to develop reading, writing and analytical skills.[16] A note of caution should be raised here. It is important that these types of programs are flexible so that they reflect the backgrounds of the students enrolled. Not all Indigenous students will be comfortable in raising cultural issues in this type of forum.
A critical approach to the study of law was encouraged. Too often, students bring to their studies a level of deference for an existing view of law that stifles their ability to analyse and think creatively about it.[17] It is believed by this writer that a critical approach allows more room for students to be at odds with the material, and to more confidently challenge it. Much of the way law is taught at university level is outside the usual experience of Indigenous people, so they almost invariably will approach their studies from a different position to many non-Indigenous students. An apparent lack of understanding is often attributable to differences in culture and background. This may be remedied by a change in approach, such as teacher-free discussion or the use of a more culturally sensitive examples, such as using Indigenous customary law to help explain the development of the English legal system.
The course was divided into five sections:
Assessment was a part of the course. For most of the students in this course, unlike some similar programs,[18] satisfactory performance was not a pre-requisite to entering law school. The assessment tasks were integrated into the program to make students aware of the types of requirements of the mainstream course, with the idea that familiarity would increase students' confidence, and therefore their performance. A large amount of written feedback was given to students on particular exercises so that they could appreciate personal weaknesses and work on them.[19]
It is difficult to analyse the success of the program at this early stage. One positive indicator was the high retention rate of students in the course. Two students deferred within the first two days of the course, citing personal reasons. The seven remaining students completed the course. Generally there were at least five students in attendance, and often all seven attended.[20] This is particularly significant as an indicator of success given:
Student feedback was very positive; one student said that after completing the bridging course she `could not read another thing without analysing it'. Another student said `I feel a bit more relaxed about starting uni because I already know my classmates'. Given that objectives for the program included promoting analytical thinking and providing a supportive framework for on-going studies, this is encouraging. Further feedback was sought at the end of first semester, when students better understand what they need to learn for greater success in the first year subject.
For most of the course the students did not work independently. The teaching-learning situation reflected the kind of classroom one would expect to see in a high school rather than a university. This writer believes this was a fault of the course. It is intended that more independent work will be integrated into next year's program to better reflect the reality of first year law school.
For the rest of the year the students have weekly tutorial support from the coordinator of the bridging program. The students are also be paired with peer tutors for a one to one tutorial one hour each week; peer tutors are students in higher years of the law course. The faculty will also attempt to match the students with a mentor[21] who is practicing law. The aim of this initiative is to further assist the students in developing study support and, possibly, a work network. Regular guest speakers are organised throughout the year in an effort to maintain the unity of the students.
All of the students in this group have extra responsibilities with which many law students do not have to concern themselves. For example, several have young children and extended family to care for, and six of the students are living independently with all the added difficulties which that entails. Two of the students are living a long way from their families. Three weeks into first semester, the Indigenous students who completed the pre-law course (along with many of the mainstream students) were already finding the content of the first year course difficult to cope with. The positive side is that the group was uniformly attending lectures and tutorials, attempting to read the material, and perhaps most importantly, asking lots of questions. The pre-law course is just the beginning for these students, but it has assisted them to build a framework in both a social and intellectual sense, to support, motivate and inspire them through the difficult first year.
[2] The project was funded by a Higher Education Equity Grant of approximately $18,000.00. This amount was matched by the Law Faculty.
[3] The Gumurri Centre is the Indigenous support unit at Griffith University, and is responsible for a large range of Indigenous student support services, including counselling and academic support.
[4] For example, the University of Western Australia, Northern Territory University, and Murdoch University have collaborated and run an intensive five week program; entry to law school is granted on the basis of assessment during the intensive course. The University of NSW runs a five week intensive course; Monash University has run a two day intensive pre-law course backed up by a general studies year designed for Indigenous students; and James Cook University runs a short intensive course. This list is not exhaustive.
[5] See R Bartlett's discussion of the WA/NT program in `The Aboriginal pre-law program', (1994) 19 Alternative Law Journal 141.
[6] See D Lavery, 'The participation of Indigenous Australians in legal education', (1993) 4 Legal Education Revue 177 at p180. As at 1990 there were 21 Indigenous law graduates, and although many universities had discretionary entrance schemes in place, not one Australian university had a preparatory or pre-law program in place.
[7] Ibid at p187.
[8] The scheme is called the Alternate Entry Scheme. Considerations raised during the interview include education and success at previous studies, work experience, a connection to Indigenous culture, and the existence of support networks (such as extended family).
[9] See Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody; Overview and Recommendations by Commissioner Elliot Johnston QC, AGPS, Canberra, 1991, Recommendation 290.
[10] R Goldflam, `Problems in Aboriginal Interpreting' in Language In Evidence by D Eades (ed), UNSW Press, Sydney, 1995, p45.
[11] This would another teacher for at least 2 hours each week during the segregated sessions.
[12] See D Lavery, op cit, p182. Using the example of UNSW, 75% of students failed or discontinued their law studies.
[13] Where possible, Indigenous speakers were invited to talk to the students. Topics included practicing in criminal law and the notion of equality before the law, the impact of law on Indigenous people, the barriers faced by women practitioners especially at the Bar, and treaties and conventions as a source of law.
[14] (1992 ) [1992] HCA 23; 175 CLR 1.
[15] Ibid at p42.
[16] For example, N Löfgren, `Common Law Aboriginal Knowledge', Vol 3, 77 Aboriginal Law Bulletin 10; P Butler, `Racially based Jury Nullification, black power in the criminal justice system', (1995) 105 Yale Law Journal 677; W Jamrozik, `White law, Black Lore', Independent Monthly, May 1994, p37.
[17] See G Frug, `A Critical theory of Law', (1989) 1 Legal Education Revue 43 for some ideas about teaching the critical analysis of law.
[18] For example the University of WA, University of NT and Murdoch initiatives.
[19] Students were asked to hand in written responses to articles at least once a week, and were required to sit an exam at the end of the fourth week. Some students elected to hand in extra work for comment and guidance.
[20] Out of 23 days in total: on six days seven students attended; on five days six students attended; on ten days five students attended.
[21] This project is supported by the Queensland Law Society. At the time of writing the Law Society and Griffith University are working to match students and mentors appropriately. The expectation is that the mentors will meet with students at least once every couple of months, and that the students will have the opportunity to observe, and where possible assist, their mentors in their workplaces for a short period over summer.
AustLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLawB/1996/53.html