Rethinking the teaching of law

Abstract

Teaching law has traditionally been restricted to analysing legislation, common law and other legal instruments. An approach such as this may leave students thinking that 'law' is merely a system of rules and ordinances that are not relevant to the real world, whereas in actuality law relates heavily to social and policy perspectives. Within my teaching practices, I cultivate an approach that considers policy considerations and practical learning approaches. I use a number of strategies to achieve this, such as introducing the relevant cases and legislation by explaining their social and/or political context. This paper explores the above themes and comment on how this approach has been documented in the literature relating to teaching law.