'Why Bother if the Students Don’t?' The Impact of Declining Student Attendance at Lectures on Law Teacher Wellbeing

in Judith Marychurch and Adiva Sifris (eds), Wellness for Law: Making Wellness Core Business (LexisNexis, 2019) 65

12 Pages Posted: 9 Dec 2019

See all articles by Kate Offer

Kate Offer

The University of Western Australia Law School

Murray Wesson

The University of Western Australia Law School

Fiona McGaughey

The University of Western Australia Law School

Natalie Skead

The University of Western Australia Law School

Liam Elphick

The University of Western Australia Law School; Melbourne Law School; La Trobe Law School; Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law

Date Written: 2019

Abstract

There are emerging studies in Australia on declining student attendance at face-to-face classes in law schools, particularly where the classes are recorded and recordings made available to students online. While there is some, albeit limited, scholarship on the nexus between attendance and student wellbeing, the impact of declining student attendance on the wellbeing of law teachers is largely unexplored. An empirical mixed method study at the University of Western Australia Law School was recently undertaken to seek to understand student attendance rates and the motivations underlying student attendance or non-attendance at face-to-face classes. Data collected from the teachers’ surveys and focus group discussions from the wider study provide valuable insights into the relationship between student attendance rates and law teacher wellbeing.

Keywords: wellbeing, student attendance, lectures, law teachers, law teacher wellbeing

JEL Classification: K10

Suggested Citation

Offer, Kate and Wesson, Murray and McGaughey, Fiona and Skead, Natalie and Elphick, Liam, 'Why Bother if the Students Don’t?' The Impact of Declining Student Attendance at Lectures on Law Teacher Wellbeing (2019). in Judith Marychurch and Adiva Sifris (eds), Wellness for Law: Making Wellness Core Business (LexisNexis, 2019) 65, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3491487

Kate Offer

The University of Western Australia Law School ( email )

M253
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley, Western Australia 6009
Australia

Murray Wesson

The University of Western Australia Law School ( email )

M253
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley, Western Australia 6009
Australia

Fiona McGaughey

The University of Western Australia Law School ( email )

M253
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley, Western Australia 6009
Australia

Natalie Skead

The University of Western Australia Law School ( email )

M253
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley, Western Australia 6009
Australia

Liam Elphick (Contact Author)

The University of Western Australia Law School ( email )

M253
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley, Western Australia 6009
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/liam-elphick

Melbourne Law School ( email )

185 Pelham Street
Melbourne, VIC 3010
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://https://law.unimelb.edu.au/students/grd/students/liam-elphick

La Trobe Law School ( email )

La Trobe University
Bundoora, VIC 3083 3142
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/display/lelphick

Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law

Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

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