ERIC Number: EJ955160
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1551-2169
EISSN: N/A
Civic Engagement in the Community: Undergraduate Clinical Legal Education
Allen, Mahalley D.; Parker, Sally A.; DeLorenzo, Teodora C.
Journal of Political Science Education, v8 n1 p35-49 2012
The Community Legal Information Center (CLIC) of California State University, Chico, provides a unique civic engagement program designed to serve the legal service needs of Northern California. Founded in 1969, CLIC is now a 12-program, on-campus law clinic staffed by up to 125 undergraduate students each semester and is the most extensive undergraduate legal clinic in the nation. Although free legal clinics are not unusual at law schools, they are very rare at the undergraduate level. We discuss how CLIC successfully provides students with the opportunity to serve the legal needs of their community while also applying what they have learned through traditional classroom learning. Research on successful undergraduate civic engagement programs is significant because civic engagement and service-learning are often perceived as lacking educational quality and merit. Further, legitimate questions surrounding civic engagement programs, such as the proper educational methodology to be used in such programs, still exist. We explore how CLIC serves as a framework from which other academic programs can model their own civic engagement programs such that they integrate traditional academic exercises with community service. (Contains 6 tables.)
Descriptors: Legal Education (Professions), Undergraduate Students, Law Schools, Legal Aid, Citizen Participation, Educational Quality, Information Sources, Clinics, Service Learning, Community Benefits, Public Service, Community Attitudes, Student Attitudes, Participant Satisfaction, Program Descriptions, Program Development, Educational Benefits, Resource Centers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A