DOCSLIB.ORG

Research on the Provision of Education in the New South Wales Central School?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Research on the Provision of Education in the New South Wales Central School? 43 Research in Rural Education, Volume5, Number 2, 1988 Research on the Provision of Education in the New South Wales Central School? COLIN BOYLAN! A survey of parents, teachers and students in three rural New South Wales central (K-l 0) schools examined the provision of education. The study identified that parents and teachers regarded small class sizes as an important educational benefit as it allowed for a personalized and individualized curriculum. Teacher turnoverwas found to be decreasing in the central schools. Students and parents wanted a broader range of curriculum offerings which included Agriculture, Art and Foreign languages. Actual student retention rates to Year 12 were low yet three-quarters of all students would like to go onto Year 12. INTRODUCTION Setting the Scene The provision of educational opportunities for children The central school in New South Wales isadministered in rural areas has recently received much discussion and by the New South Wales Department of Education. some research in Western Europe, e.g., O.E.C.D. report The Department of Education provides a centrally on Education in Sparsely Populated Areas Project, organized and controlled model of educational provision. Education and Local Development Project, [3]; in the All government schools whether elementary, central or United States with the increase in specialist rural education secondary have their staff, resources and curriculum journals like the Small Schools Forum, Research in guidelines provided from the head officelocated in Sydney. Rural Education and the formation of state and regional The central school is located in rural areas of New organizations concerned with education in rural America; South Wales. Further, the central school is found usually and, in Australia e.g., Isolated Schools [10]; Commission in rural townships with populations under 3,000. There of Inquiry Report on Poverty and Education [6]; Review are 62 central schools operating in New South Wales; 14 of the Commonwealth Country Area Program [9]; are located in the Riverina region in the southwest Listening and Responding a Review of Education in portion of New South Wales, 19 in the Western region of Rural New South Wales [2]; and the Schooling in Rural New South Wales and 20 in the Northwestern region of Australia [1] project produced by the Commonwealth New South Wales. Consequently, the occurrence of Schools Commission. central schools isusually higher in the more geographically In New South Wales, parents, teachers and community remote and small sized townships on the Western side of groups in rural areas have become increasingly concerned the Great Dividing Mountain Range. about the nature and provision of a relevant education Data from recent demographic studies have identified for their children. One form of education in rural New that there has been an overall decline in the number of South Wales areas has been the central school. The elementary school-aged children in New South Wales. central school grew out of the movement to consolidate a This trend has resulted in small rural schools either member of one-teacher schools in rural areas into a becoming smaller, and hence more vulnerable to scrutiny larger school. Turney, Sinclair and Cairns [10] claim in terms of economic and educational viability, or closure, that there were sound educational reasons involving often against local community wishes. As a consequence improved facilities and staffing that led New South Wales of this declining enrollment pattern the effects are now and other Australian states to consolidate schools. A emerging at the secondary education level. In particular, further advantage of this consolidation was the addition the secondary departments of some central schools in of a secondary education department and instructional New South Wales, where enrollment is less than 50 program in the central school. Whether or not these students, have experienced the same scrutiny asthe rural sound educational reasons and improved facilities have elementary schools. been realized is currently a matter of increasing scrutiny The central school normally offers an educational and debate. program for students from Kindergarten through the 'School of Education, Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education, Wagga Wagga, N.S.W., Australia. *Based on a report to the NSW Education Commission on The N.S.W. Central School, November 1985. 44 BOYLAN school certificate level in Year 10. Enrollment in the Riverina Regional Office for at least the last six years. secondary department of the central schools ranges from School A is approximately 30 kms away from a large 29 to 327 students. In addition, there are a number of provincial city (population 50,000) with six large central schools, 25 of the 62 central schools, that offer the government and non-government high schools. Further, complete K-12 educational program for rural students. there is an existing school bus service that transports students to this city for their high school education. The EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY second school in this study, School B, is located in a town IN CENTRAL SCHOOLS with a population of 1,100. School B has an additional drawing area of approximately 1,000 persons and five (5) The central school is in the position of developing and small one or two teacher rural schools from surrounding implementing one K-I0 school policy in the various rural communities. School B is 40 kms from the same curriculum areas. In the central school, the potential for provincial city as school A. The present secondary guiding the development of the student from a young department enrollment is 129 students and school B child through to the commencement of their adult working currently has a Master in charge of Secondary Studies on lifepresents teachers with a very real educational challenge. the school establishment. Neither school A nor school C The school executive can encourage and organize the have this executive appointment. Again, students at teaching staff so that an effective interchange of ideas at school B do have the choice of attending the local central the infants (K-2), elementary (3-6), and secondary (7-10) school or catching the school bus into the high schools in levels can be achieved that will assist in developing a the provincial city. The third school in this study, school sound instructional program for the students. There is C, is located in a small town with a population of the potential opportunity for staff to teach at different approximately 750. This town is approximately 100 levels within the school and in the process develop a kms from the same provincial city as schools A and B better understanding of where the students come from and is at least 60 kms distant from any large township or go onto in their educational program. A consequence that would contain a high school. School C is located in a of this potential benefit is that both teachers and students town in which there is a small mining operation which get to know each other better. Another related benefit provides the major non-rural source for employment of concerns the transition from infants to elementary and people in the town. In each school, the secondary from elementary to secondary levels of schooling. This department offers subjects up to School Certificate or transition occurs more smoothly and with less emotional Year 10 level. concern for both students and teachers than in the usual The design of the data collection component of this transfer from separate elementary schools to the local study included interviewing the central school principals, secondary school. surveying all teaching staff at each school, administering A further potential advantage of the central school a questionnaire to all students in Year 6, 8 and 10 at each relates to the educational program. With a flexible school, and surveying the parents of the children enrolled approach to staffing within the school, teachers with a in Years 6, 8 and 10 at each school. In each case the particular curriculum expertise and interest can be used interview schedules, questionnaires and requests for factual, at various levels. statistical data about each school were developed by the This advantage creates the situation for whole school researcher. K-I0 curriculum planning, as well as allowing the teachers to monitor the implementation of the curriculum plan FINDINGS more closely. The outcome of this flexibility and curriculum development isa well organized and structured Survey ofTeachers set of learning experiences for the children as they progress through the central school. Research on rural education usually has as one of its main focuses the issue of the teaching staff in rural DESIGN OF STUDY schools [7]. A study by the Western Australian Department of Education [5] on teacher transfers focused on the high The study was designed first to investigate and describe turnover rate of teachers in rural areas and made the the characteristics ofthe central school and the community following conclusions: it serves; and second, to identify issues and concerns i) a high turnover is disadvantageous to the student where further, more detailed and specific research was but is likely to continue; needed. This study was designed to seek the perceptions of the schools' administrative executive, the teaching ii) the thing most likely to encourage a longer stay by teachers isfinancial incentives but even this isunlikely staff, the students and the parents of the students. In this study, three central schools located in the to have much of an impact; Riverina Region of New South Wales were used. The iii) handover procedures should be improved to minimize first of these central schools, School A was located in a disruptions; and, small rural town with a population of approximately iv) schools tend to be staffed by relatively inexperienced 500. This central school had total secondary enrollment teachers who have an expectation of a short stay in of 50 students and has been under close scrutiny by the the school.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • South Australia
    Directorate for Education and Skills Innovative Learning Environments (ILE) System Note SOUTH AUSTRALIA Prepared by Dr Susanne Owen, Principal Officer Strategic Research and Innovation Leader, Innovative Learning Environment (ILE) project, Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) Policy and Communications Directorate Introduction In late 2010, the South Australian Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) became an invited education system within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Innovative Learning Environment (ILE) project. Seven South Australian public education sites provided evidence of meeting the ILE innovation criteria and were accepted for the 150 Universe cases. One DECD senior secondary school underwent academic research and was selected as part of the ILE Inventory of the 30 most innovative sites across the 26 countries involved. Throughout 2011, various approaches were implemented by a small team to build the innovation momentum beyond individual sites in DECD. Strategies included conferences, establishing a website and newsletters to share innovative practices, undertaking research and creating a community of practice involving the most innovative schools coming together for school visits and sharing. DECD innovation leaders also travelled overseas as conference presenters and participants. Additionally, a Research and Innovation framework was developed, and a cross-department governance body established. By late 2011, innovation became part of the DECD Strategic Plan 2012-2016, with a focus on equity, excellence and sustainability. Identifying and up- 2 Directorate for Education and Skills Innovative Learning Environments (ILE) System Note scaling innovation, as well as establishing system-wide directions for innovation has become an increasingly significant focus for the future. The broader government context has also been transformed through a structural reorganisation which provides an increased emphasis on children’s education and welfare through the provision of more integrated services.
    [Show full text]
  • Australian Legal Education at a Cross Roads
    AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES’ REVIEW Australian legal education at a cross roads Pauline Collins University of Southern Queensland With globalising transnational corporate law firms, high rates of depression among law students and lawyers, and a changing role for lawyers in the world of dispute resolution, academics and professional bodies have been doing some soul searching. They are pondering just what is required in a law degree to train future lawyers adequately. This article discusses the current positioning of law degrees and draws together some of the diverse trains of thought arguing for the adoption of different directions. The article discusses adopting a collaborative rather than an adversarial emphasis as a particular path that could address some of the changes and dilemmas raised. Keywords: law degrees, legal training, legal education, alternative dispute resolution, ADR Introduction Australia highlights the challenging employment market for new university graduates … just 71.3 per cent of Australian law degrees in the newly proposed deregulated bachelor degree graduates had jobs four months after market of higher education, are forecast to incur a leaving university in 2013, compared with 76.1 per cent $100,000 student loan debt with a six per cent interest in 2012. The decline was particularly acute among law, rate (Nelson, 2015a; Lewis, 2015; Pash, 2014). Therefore, accounting and civil engineering graduates’. the need to ensure the law degree provides graduates The world of law practice and the nature of law with the training needed to become gainfully employed firms are also rapidly changing under the influence has never been more important. After graduating from law of corporatisation and globalisation.
    [Show full text]
  • What, in Heaven's Name, Are We Teaching Our Children?
    What, in heaven’s name, are we teaching our children? Religion and social inclusion in Australian public schools. Public school religion and inclusion 0 A dissertation by Catherine Byrne, BA (Comms.), Charles Sturt University MA (Stds. Religion), University of Queensland Centre for Research on Social Inclusion, Macquarie University Submitted as a thesis by publication, for the degree requirements of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, Social Inclusion under supervision of: Associate Professor, Marion Maddox, PhD, PhD Director, Macquarie University Centre for Research on Social Inclusion and Dr Anne McMaugh, Macquarie University Department of Education. January, 2012 Candidate Declaration I certify that the thesis entitled ‘What, in heaven’s name, are they teaching our children? Religion and social inclusion in Australian public schools’ and submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Social Inclusion, is my own work. It is the result of my own research, except where otherwise acknowledged and has not previously been submitted as part of the requirements for a higher degree to any institution other than Macquarie University. I declare that all information sources and literature used are appropriately acknowledged. Research presented in this thesis was endorsed by the Macquarie University Ethics Committee: HE27FEB2009-D06341. Signature: ........................................... Date: ………… Student ID: 41564472 Public school religion and inclusion 1 Acknowledgements In heaven’s name grew from intrigue. I had completed a Masters in the Study of Religion and begun a Diploma of Education. I could not, however, combine my desire to teach in public education with my specialty subject. The public ‘secular’ system did not want religion teachers and the religious school system wanted religion taught in a rigid way.
    [Show full text]
  • Religious Freedom and Education in Australian Schools
    laws Article Religious Freedom and Education in Australian Schools Paul Babie Adelaide Law School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia; [email protected] Abstract: This article examines the constitutional allocation of power over primary and secondary education in Australia, and the place of and protection for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Australian government and religious non-government schools. This article provides both an overview of the judicial treatment of the constitutional, legislative, and common law protection for FoRB and a consideration of emerging issues in religious freedom in both government and religious non-government schools, suggesting that the courts may soon be required to provide guidance as to how the available protections operate in both settings. Keywords: Australia; education; freedom of religion; constitution; free exercise; section 116; implied freedom of political communication 1. Introduction This article examines the place of and protection for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Australian government primary and secondary education (‘government schools’) 1 and in religious non-government schools. In order to understand that place, it is necessary to outline the legal foundations for education in Australia as well as the protection of FoRB Citation: Babie, Paul. 2021. Religious in Australian law. Australia, like the United States, is a constitutional federal democracy; Freedom and Education in Australian as such, the legal foundations for education involve an uneasy balance of federal (national, Schools. Laws 10: 7. https://doi.org/ or Commonwealth) and state and territory (regional) law and policy. This means that no 10.3390/laws10010007 one unitary source exists for the foundation of government schools, its funding, and for the protection of FoRB.
    [Show full text]
  • Educational History
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 353 188 SO 022 494 AUTHOR Lawson, Max; Hutchinson, Frank TITLE Peace Education in Australia: The Legacy of the 1980s. Peace Education Miniprints No. 27. INSTITUTION Lund Univ. (Sweden). Malmo School of Education. REPORT NO ISSN-1101-6418 PUB DATE Mar 92 NOTE 15p. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Educational Change; *Educational Development; *Educational History; Educational Policy; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; *International Education; International Organizations; *Peace; *Politics of Education IDENTIFIERS *Australia; *Peace Education ABSTRACT After a brief introduction to the historical background of the peace education movement in Australia, this paper surveys major events concerning peace education in Australia in the 1980s. Peace education efforts in Australia have experienced successes as well as setbacks, and that the fate of such efforts often is at least in part, related to national and local political forces.(DB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUC DONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) is document has beenreproduced as received from the person or organization originating IL Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality Points of view Of opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTEDBY TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." PEACE EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA: THE LEGACY OF THE 1980s Max Lawson and Frank Hutchinson Department of Social, Cultural and Curriculum Studies University of New England Armidale, New South Wales, Australia It may be useful now to take stock of the situation of peaceeducation in different parts of the world.
    [Show full text]
  • “Better Schools” in Tasmania
    “Better Schools” in Tasmania From a TPA perspective it’s essential any reform drives transformation by focusing on 3 areas: 1. Creating empowered and highly effective school leadership - the single biggest driver in achieving Melbourne Declaration Goals 1 and 2 by 2025. 2. Improving and maintaining quality teaching. 3. Achieving real improvement in student outcomes, through consultation with experienced educational experts and research. This paper is a best effort at describing the implications of the proposed reforms in education associated with the funding and program arrangements that are currently being negotiated between Canberra and Tasmania. It is based on information found on the DEEWR, Better Schools web site. Can we afford Gonski type funding? Some Background From Jan 1, 2014 education in Australia will be guided by a new Education Bill. This Bill is currently “in Parliament”. Regardless of the outcome of negotiations between the federal government and Tasmania, from Jan 1, 2014 Australian education will reflect this new legislation. The Bill will be developed through what is known as The Better Schools Legislation. This can be found at http://www.betterschools.gov.au/australian-education-bill . There are 2 distinct elements to the proposed Bill. A set of clearly defined priorities that will shape the future work of schools, teachers and principals. Whilst these priorities have attracted little media attention they have the potential to be the significant legacy of this reform. A resource model for distributing money to states. This is the element that has attracted most media interest as it describes both how and how much money is to flow from government to schools.
    [Show full text]
  • Children and Schoolwork in New South Wales, 1860-1920
    University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Business - Economics Working Papers Faculty of Business and Law January 1999 Children and schoolwork in New South Wales, 1860-1920 M. Murray University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/commwkpapers Recommended Citation Murray, M., Children and schoolwork in New South Wales, 1860-1920, Department of Economics, University of Wollongong, 1999. https://ro.uow.edu.au/commwkpapers/18 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] University of Wollongong Department of Economics Working Paper Series 1999 Children and Schoolwork in New South Wales, 1860-1920 Maree Murray WP 99-15 1 ‘Children and schoolwork in New South Wales, 1860-1920’ A boy named Bell walked out of school on Monday at 3.30 to escape his Euclid.1 I was always fond of poetry and I'd always have to stand up and say poetry. I used to be able to learn real quick.2 I suppose it would be reading, writing and arithmetic.3 Teachers are to instil into the minds of their pupils the necessity for habits of orderly and modest behaviour, as well as obedience to teachers, and to the rules of the School. Pupils should also be trained to exhibit respect for the property of others, whether public or private; to regard the feelings of their fellows; to be honest and truthful, diligent under instruction, and conscientious in the discharge of every duty.4 Did master Bell ever face his Euclid? Unfortunately the source leaves that question unanswered.
    [Show full text]
  • Framing Paper: Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools
    FRAMING PAPER Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools ISBN: 978 0 6480479 2 6 (Print) 978 0 6480479 3 3 (Online) Design & Print: theLMent.com © 2018 by National Catholic Education Commission This work, Framing Paper – Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ The Bishops Commission for Catholic Education, acting on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, endorses fully this Framing Paper published by the National Catholic Education Commission. We commend it to all engaged in the religious education, catechetical and evangelisation ministries of the Church. We suggest that it be entrusted along with the diocesan religious education curriculum to all teachers of religious education in Catholic schools in a commissioning ceremony at a suitable whole-of-school occasion. The NCEC Faith Formation and Religious Education Standing Committee composed the Framing Paper. We thank its members for this outstanding and excellent piece of work. +Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB Chair, Bishops Commission for Catholic Education 1 December 2017 National Catholic Education Commission 4 Framing Paper • Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools INTRODUCTION The desire for God is written in the This Framing Paper uses the term “Religious human heart because the human person Education” to refer to the learning area is created by God and for God.1 From of Religious Education and its formal our earliest moments, every person lives curriculum, that is the classroom learning within the gracious offer of God’s life and and teaching of religion.3 This Framing love.2 Children and young people grow in Paper situates the Religious Education awareness of themselves and search for learning area within the overall mission meaning and purpose in their lives and in of the Catholic school.
    [Show full text]
  • Building Quality in Teaching and Teacher Education
    Australian Education Review Building quality in teaching and AER Number: 61 teacher education Building quality in teaching and teacher education Nan Bahr with Suzanne Mellor Australian Council for Educational Research Australian Education Review Building quality in teaching and teacher education Nan Bahr with Suzanne Mellor Australian Council for Educational Research First published 2016 by ACER Press Australian Council for Educational Research 19 Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell, Victoria, 3124 Copyright © 2016 Australian Council for Educational Research All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers. Series Editor: Suzanne Mellor Copy edited by Margaret Trudgeon Typeset by ACER Creative Services Printed by BPA Print Group National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Creator: Bahr, Nanette Margaret author. Title: Building quality in teaching and teacher education / Nan Bahr, Suzanne Mellor. ISBN: 9781742864068 (paperback) Series: Australian education review ; 61. Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: Teachers —Training of—Australia. Teachers—Attitudes—Australia. Teacher effectiveness—Australia—Evaluation. Effective teaching—Australia—Evaluation. Other Creators/Contributors: Mellor, Suzanne, author. Australian Council for Educational Research, issuing body. Dewey Number: 370.71194 Visit our website: www.acer.edu.au/aer Acknowledgements for contribution to cover image: Joy Reynolds Foreword In the midst of rapidly-changing work environments that are driven by innovation, workers in Australia are expected to continually adapt and keep up with new information and practices.
    [Show full text]
  • Judicial Education in Australia
    JUDICIAL EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA Background The majority of judges and magistrates in Australia are selected from among the ranks of very experienced legal practitioners. It is common for a person to be appointed only after 20 to 30 years experience as a practicing lawyer in the courts. Thus on appointment judicial officers not only have academic qualifications in law but also extensive experience as practitioners in the courts. They are presumed to possess the necessary skills and experience for judicial functions because of this experience. Judges and magistrates in Australia are appointed by federal and state Governments. Although legislation sets minimum requirements (for example 5 years experience after attaining qualification as a lawyer), in practice governments consult existing judges and elected representatives of the legal profession before selecting persons for appointment. Typically appointees have the recognition of existing judges and other lawyers as persons who have outstanding ability in the law and legal practice. Judicial officers tend to occupy judicial office for fairly lengthy periods. The fact that judicial officers hold office for substantial periods of time means that they are likely to benefit from programs of on going professional development. In addition it takes time to develop fully the skills required of a judicial officer, and it is in the public interest that those who have fully developed those skills put them to the public benefit for as long as possible. Thus, the members of the Australian judiciary can benefit from programs of professional development that focus on their legal skills, their practical judicial skills, and their approach to their work and which help them to maintain fitness and enthusiasm for the work.
    [Show full text]
  • Public and Private Schooling in Australia - Historical and Contemporary Considerations by Anthony Potts | Institute of Historical Research
    Public And Private Schooling In Australia - Historical And Contemporary Considerations by Anthony Potts | Institute of Historical Research Home » Publications » E-seminars in history Public And Private Schooling In Australia - Historical And Contemporary Considerations Anthony Potts (La Trobe University, Bendigo, Australia) 1997 Introduction According to the most recent figures available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (August 1996) there were 9,629 schools operating in Australia. Of these 7,087 (73.6%) were government schools operated by the State Directors-General of Education (or equivalent) and 2,542 (26.4%) were non-government schools. There were 3,142,933 full-time students attending these schools in August 1996. Of these, 2,221,475 (70.7%) attended government schools and 921,458 (29.3%) were attending non- government schools. The number of full-time students attending government schools in 1996 increased by 13,622 (0.6%) from the 2,207,853 attending in 1995, while the number of full-time students attending non-government schools increased by 19,974 (2.2%) from the 901,484 attending in 1995. There was the equivalent of 143,949 full-time teaching staff in government schools in August 1996, an increase of 0.1% from the 143,787 in 1995, while teaching staff in non-government schools totalled 60,070 full-time equivalent units, an increase of 1,456 (2.5%). Bone (1996a:15) claims that in Australia over the previous two decades enrolments in government schools have declined by 80,000 while those in private schools have risen by 280,000. She also notes that while 30% of Australian students go to private schools this contrasts with the approximate 10% of pupils who attend private schools in Britain and North America where private schools receive no money from taxpayers (Bone, 1996a:15).
    [Show full text]
  • THE FUTURE of LEGAL EDUCATION in the 21St CENTURY
    Daniel Goldsworthy* THE FUTURE OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN THE 21st CENTURY ABSTRACT Technological progress will continue to fundamentally alter how we relate to each other and to our work, necessarily shaping the future of legal education. In considering its future direction, this article contemplates various perspectives regarding the purpose of legal education, and the pressures that may be brought to bear on pedagogical practices as a result of current and emerging technologies. Situating these considerations within the broader commentary regarding the future of work and the role of human beings in an age of automation, this article argues that the nature and type of skills taught to future lawyers, as well as the substantive knowledge relevant in the 21st century, will depend upon the irreducible value of human beings to the law and legal processes. Tasks that require creativity, complex reasoning or social intelligence (such as the ability to negotiate complex social relationships effectively) will remain the province of human beings. This must inform and shape legal education. Consequently, this article argues that the future of legal education is one that recognises lawyers will increasingly be required to attain a broad, liberal education enabling interdisciplinary insights, creativity and social intelligence. I INTRODUCTION n David Barker’s text, A History of Australian Legal Education,1 he cites as inspir­ ation for his research a statement by the late John Merryman, a scholar from the IUnited States, on the importance of legal education: The examination of legal education in a society provides a window on its legal system. Here one sees the expression of basic attitudes about the law: what law is, what lawyers do, how the system operates or how it should operate.
    [Show full text]