Application of rules in social work studies – how to strengthen students’ legal competence through the use of practical assignments?

Many students find legal method, the application of rules, and the writing of legal texts to be challenging and difficult. In this project, we will investigate what students perceive as difficult and, based on this, develop a variety of learning resources that provide asynchronous guidance to support students in writing legal case-based (practical) assignments.

The project will be carried out in connection with the introductory law courses in the Bachelor's programmes in Social Work and Child Welfare during the academic years 2025/2026 and 2026/2027.

In Part 1 of the project, case-based assignments and various forms of written asynchronous guidance and peer assessment will be developed for use in the first-year law course in the Bachelor's programme in Social Work (SOS1140 Welfare Law – Law in Social Work). Knowledge about students’ experiences with the assignments will be collected through surveys and in-depth interviews with students enrolled in the course. This will form the basis for revising the learning resources before

Part 2 of the project is conducted in a similar manner in the introductory law course in the Bachelor's programme in Child Welfare (BV1300 Law – Legal Method, Sources of Law, and Administrative Law).

The aim of the project is to develop and further refine a range of learning resources in law that can support and provide asynchronous guidance to students in writing case-based legal assignments, with the goal of strengthening students’ legal competence. The learning resources will be designed to address students’ concrete and diverse needs.

The project has been reported to Sikt.