3.6. Analysis of reforms at the Nigerian Law School
3.6.2 Legal information literacy and the curriculum of the NLS
The case-based nature of the study of law emphasises the doctrine of judicial precedent in legal reasoning, it is this factor that necessitates the ability of the lawyer to be able to access, use, evaluate and apply information from a range of resources that are fundamental to legal practice (Kuhn, 2008: 11). The conceptual understanding of legal information literacy is rooted in studies which have highlighted students’ learning experiences in the use of legal information resources in various institutions and the contributions of their findings to issues of curriculum development and the promotion of lifelong learning in legal education (Andretta, 2001; Cuffe, 2002; Kuhn, 2008).
Legal education functions to provide students with the educational experiences and practical training they need to understand the use of law in the society (International Legal Centre, 1975:
16). The task of legal education is to prepare students to meet the high expectations they are likely to encounter in the course of legal practice. According to Trimmer (2001: Incorporating skills teaching), the ability of the law school to respond to the challenges presented by current and future legal practice and to educate future lawyers is dependent on the content and teaching
of law programmes particularly in the area of skills development. The increasing impact of the volume of legal information resources has made the concept of legal information literacy and the application of skills an important component of legal problem solving in legal research (Callister, 2003: 21-22).
Changes to the curriculum of the NLS have indicated the efforts undertaken so far to include such courses that will enable graduate lawyers to apply their skills to complex legal systems. An analysis of the outlined skills courses shows the inclusion of legal research skills as one of the components which are undertaken through various problem-based exercises in small group sessions (Mamman, 2009: 15-16). However, an in depth look at the new curricula shows that
“library and legal research and Internet and legal research” skills training including practical exercises in the use of the Internet and other resources are viewed as all-encompassing in addressing the inadequacies of legal research rather than a comprehensive IL course. It is also noted that this module comprises a minimal component among other substantive law courses in the programme of activities for the entire session, that is, three schedules within the first week of the academic session (Council of Legal Education, 2009: 5). The implication of this situation is that only limited impact can be achieved in terms of IL skills development considering the timing and content of this module. This situation therefore points to the need to reconceptualise aspects of the Law School curricula that relate to skills development, particularly legal research by integrating it into a more coherent framework within which generic and specific skills can be taught. Such a conceptual framework will also help facilitate the development of transferable skills that are vital for lifelong learning (Kift, 2004: 4). In this regard, Kuhn (2008: 13-14) in her study proposes an IL paradigm as an approach for legal research training which can be integrated within the law school curriculum. Such an approach will promote the teaching and learning of knowledge, skills and attitudes within the curriculum and facilitate deep learning among learners.
Theories of learning are increasing the understanding of how the organisation of knowledge can enhance people’s problem-solving abilities and the development of effective competency skills for better performance (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000: 4). According to Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000: 4), research into learning and transfer has revealed important principles on how learning experiences can be structured in ways that enable people to transfer
learning to new contexts. They observed that knowledge that is presented as a set of
disconnected facts does not enable transferability. In order for students to develop competency in an area or field of inquiry, therefore, there is a need for the facts and ideas in the subject area to be presented within the context of a conceptual framework. In this way students are provided with the opportunity for deep learning of the subject matter and the ability to transform factual information into usable knowledge (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000: 4, 170). This view is also supported by Sullivan and others (2007: 95-96) when they observed that some findings in cognitive learning research have shown that conceptual models or schemas are important in human thinking in the sense that such models are able to establish a cause and effect and ranking and order in human thinking as well as find relationships between them in the course of learning.
Consequently, the ability of professional training to integrate such knowledge within an
appropriate conceptual model helps to convey a deeper meaning and practical experience for the learner.
In the light of this analysis and based on the current efforts towards narrowing the gap between legal education and professional practice, it is noted that the curriculum of the NLS, as it is currently structured, does not sufficiently attend to the issue of skills development especially with respect to the concept of legal information literacy. Information literacy in legal research provides a context through which essential skills training can be integrated into the teaching of law (Davies & Jackson, 2005: Information literacy: the concept). The strategy of information literacy ensures that standards are set that encourage students to develop highly effective
research skills for problem-solving by providing them the opportunity for learning experiences to be created so that students can develop skills in relation to what is taught (Potter, 2000: 287).
The challenge therefore is to determine what legal information literacy skills the aspirant barristers need to possess as they prepare for the work place and how these skills can be integrated into the curriculum of the NLS. It is in this regard that this study has potential implications for legal education as it seeks to examine the changes in the curriculum of the Nigerian Law School and its response to these changes with respect to legal information literacy instruction.