ABSTRACT

This article studies emotions of students in light of the concept of clinical legal education and its pedagogy. It takes as its case study the Helsinki Law Clinic. The study shows that emotions constitute an important aspect of academic learning and they often guide students through the learning experience. The design of the course and the scope of the teachers’ involvement have a significant impact on emotions experienced by students and, through these emotions, on students’ motivation. The study showed that students who struggle with group work most and have negative emotions towards the collaborative setting of the course exhibited a perfectionist attitude. Students who express a more positive attitude towards group work expressed greater emotional satisfaction with both the course and their own performance, and received better grades. Those students who have indicated orientation towards performance and stressed the importance of passing examinations were most dissatisfied with group work. These findings show the importance of the role of teachers in regulating students’ emotions through guiding their work and continuously explaining the purpose of clinical education as more oriented towards collaborative problem-solving and learning by doing rather than as an exam to be passed.

摘要

本文从临床法学教育的理念及其教学法出发，对学生的情绪进行研究。它以赫尔辛基法律诊所为案例研究。研究表明，情绪构成了学术学习的一个重要方面，它们经常引导学生完成学习体验。课程的设计和教师参与的范围对学生所体验的情绪以及通过这些情绪对学生的动机有重大影响。研究表明，在团队合作中最挣扎并对课程的协作环境有负面情绪的学生表现出完美主义的态度。对小组工作表现出更积极态度的学生对课程和自己的表现表现出更高的情感满意度，并获得更好的成绩。那些表示注重表现并强调通过考试的重要性的学生对小组作业最不满意。这些发现表明，教师通过指导学生的工作和不断将临床教育的目的解释为更注重协作解决问题和边做边学，而不是通过考试，从而调节学生情绪的重要性。