Description
Legal education has traditionally prioritised doctrinal knowledge and analytical reasoning, with success often framed in terms of learning to ‘think like a lawyer’. While these skills remain central, this focus risks obscuring the broader human capacities that underpin students’ ability to engage, persist, and thrive throughout their legal studies. Law students encounter multiple, often under-recognised transition points (from school to university, from certainty to ambiguity, and from academic study to professional or post-degree pathways) yet many arrive without the life skills needed to navigate these challenges effectively. At the same time, legal educators frequently assume that students already possess such capacities, creating a significant pedagogical blind spot.This paper argues that adaptability, belonging, and well-being should be understood as foundational success literacies within legal education, rather than peripheral or extra-curricular concerns. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature from higher education, legal pedagogy, and student development, the paper conceptualises these interdependent capacities and maps key transition points at which law students are most vulnerable to disengagement or attrition. It highlights how these challenges are unevenly experienced, with some students facing heightened barriers within the hidden curriculum of law.
Building on this framework, the paper outlines practical pathways for embedding adaptability, belonging, and well-being into law curricula. Using examples from small and large-group teaching within the Feeling Failure project, it demonstrates how these capacities can be developed through curriculum design and teaching practices, rather than treated as matters of individual resilience. The paper concludes by arguing that integrating these capacities is essential for student success, inclusion, and a more humane and sustainable model of legal education
| Period | 2 Jul 2026 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Nottingham Law School, Centre for Legal Education Conference, Community, Creativity and Culture in Legal Education |
| Event type | Workshop |
| Location | Nottingham, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |