Legal education for wellbeing: design, delivery and evaluation

Over the past five or so years, it has become almost trite to refer to the significant wellbeing issues which arise within higher education among both the student body generally and law students in particular. In the UK, the increasing acknowledgement of these issues is demonstrated by the publication of the Universities UK Step Change: Mentally Healthy Universities Framework and the University Mental Health Charter. Both of these advocate a “whole university” approach to wellbeing, viewing wellbeing as fundamental to all aspects of university life, not just those traditionally viewed as pastoral in nature. The starting point for this special issue is that it is vital for law schools to adjust to this “whole university” approach in the way they design, deliver and evaluate their teaching, foster learning, interact with their students and facilitate their students’ experience. Whilst mental health, wellbeing and other pastoral services have a crucial role to play in higher education, they are not sufficient on their own. Neither are generic central policies and processes for recognition of wellbeing as a curricular matter. An effective “whole university” approach also requires each individual school and department to consider how to acknowledge the value of wellbeing and integrate it into the curriculum in an evidence-based and sustainable manner appropriate to their discipline. For law schools in particular, there is a rich body of international evidence demonstrating that the culture, norms and approaches common in legal studies can be potentially harmful to student wellbeing. As a result there is a strong ethical imperative upon them to address their role in this as part of implementing such a “whole university” approach. Given the bi-directional relationship between wellbeing and