Public legal education:
Improving lives, empowering communities

Welcome to issue no. 4 of the Public Legal Education Network newsletter.

In this issue:

• Young People and Legal Capability
• Theatre ADAD
• Immigration and Nationality Information Deficit
• 60 Second Interview
• Plenet Strategic Plan 2009 to 2012

Legal Capability - IARS study

'Being legally capable simply means to be able to perform our role as equal members of society while being aware of our basic rights and responsibilities. It is not about complex legal concepts; it is about empowerment and proper education.' *

Plenet has published research providing a unique insight into young people's legal capability. The study Independent Academic Research Studies (IARS), a youth-led social policy think tank was commissioned by Plenet in 2008 to explore to what extent young people are able to deal with routine law-related issues. IARS is experienced with working with marginalised and disadvantaged young people and guaranteed that the project engaged young people at all levels, from research design through to reporting.

The study looked at young people's knowledge, skills and attitudes. Worryingly, one of the key findings revealed that participants had little or no knowledge of most of our basic rights and entitlements. In particular, they seemed unaware of any system of civil law to which they had recourse. Many lacked sound verbal communication skills, affecting their ability to resolve law-related problems. The participant’s in the study said that feelings of frustration and anger would mean they are likely to resort to aggression to try and sort out their problems.

It was usual to find that young people had a negative attitude towards professionals preferring members of their families or friends as sources of help and advice. One of the recommendations from the study was that public legal education activities for young people need to be through outreach and be carried out by individuals trusted by the young people involved.

This area of legal capability is new and challenging and this report has taken the first step in helping the PLE movement to understand better its challenges and opportunities.

Read the study in full:
Measuring Young Peoples Legal Capability 2009 (1.1 MB)

* Quote from Dr. Theo Gavrielides, Chief Executive, IARS

Theatre ADAD

A pioneering way of engaging marginalised young people has been developed by Theatre ADAD who use interactive drama to tackle difficult issues such as drugs, gang and peer pressure and the consequences of offending.

This method of learning increases young people's knowledge of some of the issues they will encounter in everyday life. The dramas also develop skills and can change attitudes. All of these - knowledge, skills and attitude - are prerequisites for improving legal capability.

We look at one of the plays, 'Wasted' which focuses on substance abuse. During the workshop that follows, members of the audience are invited to take part in a re-run of the play and are encouraged to influence the outcome. Participation in the dramas has helped young people to become more resilient and more able to resist peer pressure.

With better knowledge and life skills, self esteem is improved and young people feel more optimistic and confident about dealing with difficult situations and problems.

Theatre ADAD and 'Flat Broke' and visit Theatre ADAD

Islington Summer University

A growing number of summer universities for young people are taking place over London. For the second year running, Islington Summer University has included two courses - 'Know you legal rights!' and 'Introduction to Law' run by a local legal advice centre, Islington Law Centre.

Knowledge about the law and legal systems extends beyond the young people attending the courses and is a valuable way of raising awareness and legal capability in deprived communities.

Islington Summer University

Immigration and Nationality Information Deficit

Recent research by Advice Services Alliance's Advicenow project has revealed that there is far less information available to the public on immigration and nationality than there was in 2006.

Organisations such as the Immigration Advisory Service have had to pull out of providing information on their websites because they no longer have the resources to keep up to date with many changes being made to the law and regulations. This has resulted in important new areas of law, such as the points based scheme not being covered.

Immigration and Nationality Information Deficit
The report in full Information and Nationality Information Deficit (12 KB)

60 Second Interview

This month's interview is with Richard Grimes, an independent consultant (Talking Law) who has worked on a variety of capacity-building projects.

Richard Grimes
One of Richard's top tips for PLE:

'In my experience the most effective PLE (as measured by the degree of engagement and the feedback given) seems to be where participants are actively involved in the learning and teaching.'

Read the interview in full: 60 second interview with Richard Grimes

Spotlight on.....

Plenet Strategic Plan

Based on the recommendations of the Pleas Task Force and Plenet's Steering Group, Plenet has published its first three year strategic plan. A key priority is setting up an independent centre for public legal education.

Read more about it ! Strategic Plan 2009 - 2012
Strategic Plan: Plenet Strategic Plan (214 KB)
And, let us know what you think.

Towards a baseline for legal capability?

The Plenet commissioned report 'Measuring Young People’s Legal Capability' from IARS reveals some worrying gaps in young people's ability to deal with law-related issues.

It raises an immediate question. What are the baseline capabilities that young people need in order to deal with the law-related challenges of everyday life?

Read more and share your thoughts via the comment box at the bottom of the article page:

Towards a baseline for legal capability

Other Quick Links

Research and Theory
Projects
Discussion and Themes

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July 2009