Xiaoren Wang

Breaking the silence

Introduction

Breaking the silence. Explore why law students stay quiet in class, focusing on Scottish law schools. Research reveals quiet students face subjective obstacles like anxiety, requiring tailored strategies to boost their participation.

Abstract

For law students, actively engaging in class discussions is crucial not only for their learning but also for their future careers. However, research in legal education and my own teaching experiences reveal that a substantial number of law students remain quiet during class discussions. Existing research on why students are quiet primarily focuses on the context of US law schools, which differs from the settings of other regions in the EU or UK. Using two surveys and one reflective practice (action), this research explores the obstacles preventing quiet students from participating in discussions in the context of a Scotland law school and tries to improve their participation in class discussions. The findings reveal that the obstacles preventing quiet students from speaking out differ from those affecting active students. Quiet students are more likely hindered by subjective factors such as social anxiety or shyness, whereas active students tend to be influenced by objective factors such as whether they have prepared for class discussions. Additionally, as the semester progresses, the inhibiting effects of these obstacles on quiet students decrease significantly, compared with active students. These findings imply that strategies for encouraging quiet students should differ from those for active students. To encourage quiet students to speak up in law classes, lecturers should focus on alleviating subjective anxiety or shyness and helping them quickly become familiar with the course setting. In the end of this article, it further discusses the pedagogical value of class discussion for quite students, despite this is not their comfort zone.

Review

This paper, "Breaking the Silence," tackles a critical and underexplored issue within legal education: the consistent silence of a significant cohort of students during class discussions. By intentionally moving the research focus beyond the often-studied US law school context to a Scottish institution, the study offers a valuable and regionally specific lens on a globally recognized pedagogical challenge. The abstract outlines a robust methodological approach, combining two surveys with a reflective practice intervention, designed not only to identify the specific obstacles to participation but also to explore potential improvements. This emphasis on context and a blended research design suggests a thorough and practical engagement with the problem. A key strength of the research lies in its discerning findings, which reveal distinct patterns between quiet and active students regarding their barriers to participation. The identification of subjective factors like social anxiety and shyness as primary inhibitors for quiet students, versus more objective preparation-related factors for active students, provides a crucial insight for tailored pedagogical approaches. Equally significant is the observation that the inhibiting effects on quiet students diminish significantly as the semester progresses, highlighting the dynamic nature of these obstacles. These findings directly underpin the paper's core implication: that effective strategies for encouraging quiet students must fundamentally differ from those aimed at active students, prioritizing the alleviation of anxiety and fostering familiarity with the learning environment. While the abstract effectively outlines the study's scope and promising findings, a deeper engagement with the "reflective practice (action)" component would be essential for a comprehensive understanding of its impact and generalizability. Clarification on the specific actions taken during this practice, their implementation, and the metrics used to assess their effectiveness would significantly enhance the paper's practical value. The concluding discussion on the "pedagogical value of class discussion for quite students, despite this is not their comfort zone" is a particularly intriguing aspect that, if fully developed and supported in the main article, could offer profound insights into the long-term benefits of encouraging participation even when it challenges student comfort zones. This work makes a valuable contribution to the scholarship of legal education, particularly from a European perspective.

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