Supervising the supervisors: what are the challenges inherent in teaching in a law clinic environment and how can colleagues be supported on the transition from practitioner to practice-informed teacher and researcher?

Boothby, Carol (2020) Supervising the supervisors: what are the challenges inherent in teaching in a law clinic environment and how can colleagues be supported on the transition from practitioner to practice-informed teacher and researcher? Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

This doctorate explores concepts of professional identity within the context of teaching in the law clinic- a form of practice- based teaching, but one which pushes the boundaries of the concept in that clinical supervisors operate both within the reality of live client casework, as legal professionals, as well as in the context of the Higher Education environment.
Transition is a recurring theme, and I examine the pressures created by the need to transition from legal professional to a role combining teaching and learning expertise, where real world experience is valued, to occupying a space in academia. Through my experience as Director of the Northumbria law clinic, the Student Law Office, I examine the intersection of praxis and research, and how practitioners can create a community of practice which can in its turn provide a ‘safe space’ for their further evolution into research-active academics – or at least a safe platform for launching into the unfamiliar world of research. I reflect on the challenges of this journey through liminality, the temporal and recursive nature of this transition, and in doing so, provide a unique insight into the model of clinical supervision at Northumbria University Law School.

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