Data wombling: what re-analysis of naturally occurring student data can tell us about courses, student performance and access to the legal profession

Sylvester, Cath, O'Boyle, Rory and Hall, Emma (2018) Data wombling: what re-analysis of naturally occurring student data can tell us about courses, student performance and access to the legal profession. Journal of International and Comparative Law, 5 (1). pp. 111-142. ISSN 2313-3775

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Abstract

Education sites are data-rich environments and such is the embarrassment of riches that very little use is made of this data beyond its’ initial purpose. Naturally occurring data about students’ backgrounds, their previous attainment and their module by module progression are, in a sense, “lying all over the ground” but the combination of data sets or longitudinal analysis rarely take place. This paper considers two projects which take inspiration from the Wombles and re-purpose this discarded data: using large-scale datasets to reveal the potential for more nuanced understanding of students’ trajectories through legal education and towards the legal profession in England and Wales and in Ireland.

Simple linear assumptions about who can and should enter the profession are challenged by our findings and the potential to identify important developmental shifts and critical experiences on the way to qualification poses questions for curriculum design and improvements to legal education and access in both jurisdictions.

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