Assessing Student Interest in a Legal Rights Information Fair - Example

Development and Technical Support 60 Tribune St. SOUTH BRISBANE QLD 4101 (07)2351-3421 Fax (07) 3231-2222 XX September 2010 Mr. Neil Marsh Senior Administrator QUTIC Queensland University of Technology KELVIN GROVE QLD 4059 Dear Mr. Marsh: Please find attached the report on the survey conducted on the perceptions of QUTIC students about the issue of legal rights and their interest in attending or participating in a Legal Rights Information Fair. The study is intended to provide useful information for the planning and presentation of this community-building event. The survey, which comprised 10 questions, was administered to 20 students in the QUTIC learning facilities. The results can generally be considered positive, indicating a solid level of interest among students in attending a Legal Rights Information Fair and learning more about the issue of legal rights. This report concludes with a few recommendations on how best to proceed with planning for the Legal Rights Information Fair, such as the preferred venue and time the event would likely have the greatest number of attendees, and an approach to soliciting the support of legal experts, which the survey results indicated most students would find valuable. I wish to thank you for this opportunity to work with you. Please feel welcome to contact me should clarification of particular points be necessary, either at the number above or by email at hma2003@hotmail.com. Yours sincerely Alharbi, Mohammad Senior Manager Enc: 1 Assessing Student Interest in a Legal Rights Information Fair Submitted to: Submitted by Alharbi, Mohammad Senior Manager Development and Technical Support XX September 2010 Abstract This report discusses the importance of a clear understanding of legal rights among QUT international students, and presents the results of a survey conducted to assess students’ level of awareness and concern about legal rights issues and their interest in a Legal Rights Information Fair. Results of the research show that while knowledge of legal rights among students is generally average, there is an encouraging level of interest in the opportunity to learn more that the event would provide, and a strong interest in learning more information if it was available by way of personal interaction with legal experts and other authorities. Some general recommendations for planning the event are presented in the conclusion. Table of Contents Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Tables iii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Objectives 2 1.3 Method 2 1.4 Scope 2 2. Analysis of Results and Discussion 3 2.1 Students’ Perceptions and Concern for Legal Rights Issues 3 2.2 Student Interest in a Legal Rights Information Fair 5 3. Recommendations 6 4. Benefits 7 References 9 Survey Declaration Appendix A: Completed Questionnaires Appendix B: Survey Results Tally Appendix C: Marked Assignment Report Criteria sheet List of Figures Figure 1: Students’ responses to Question 1 3 Figure 2: Student Interest in a Legal Rights Information Fair 5 List of Tables Table 1: Students’ legal rights concerns 4 Table 2: Students’ information-seeking preferences 5 Table 3a: Preferred Location of the Event 6 Table 3a: Preferred Time of the Event 7 1. Introduction 1.1 Background “Legal rights” can be broadly defined as the protections an individual is guaranteed under the law. For international students at QUT, the issue of awareness of their legal rights takes on added complexity for the simple reasons that they are mostly young people, subject to additional legal requirements as visiting non-citizens of Australia, and as students are subject not only to the same laws that guide the entire community, but the authority of the university as well. A lack of awareness and understanding of legal rights is a disadvantage to younger people, because studies have shown that young people are less likely to seek advice on legal rights concerns on their own, and are thus more at risk of experiencing negative consequences when faced with a legal issue or problem. (Wintersteiger, 2008) Misunderstandings about legal rights can lead to resentment and resistance to the law. On the other hand, people who are informed of their rights and responsibilities and what opportunities for advocacy and assistance are available if they do encounter a legal problem are usually more assured that the law is for their own benefit, and are more inclined to follow it. (Rolfe, et al., 2008) For any students, the subject of legal rights has the dimension of the authority of the university added to the general laws of the community, which may give the school permissions beyond what the law allows for everyone else; for example, searches by law enforcement of persons or property are only permitted under a few clear, well-defined circumstances, but those rules for the university – because as an entity, it is also required to adhere to the community’s laws – may be looser, which would like seem to be an infringement to a student who does not understand what is permitted and why. (Cambron-McCabe, et al., 2008; BC Civil Liberties Association, n.d.) And finally, international students a QUT must also be aware of their rights and obligations as foreigners being permitted to study in Australia, something which is made somewhat more challenging not only because for many, they are in unfamiliar surroundings, but because the characteristics of the Australian Federal system give all the various levels of authority – national, state, local, and the university – part of the responsibility for seeing that the applicable laws and rights are enforced and respected. (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2010) 1.2 Objectives This study had two objectives: First, to assess the perceptions of and level of concern about their legal rights on the part of students, and second, to assess students’ interest in the proposed Legal Rights Information Fair. Although there were some limitations, which are described below, to the scope of the research, the study was successful in gathering useful information to draw a number of conclusions and offer recommendations on how to best proceed with the planned event. 1.3 Method Research was conducted by means of a brief survey of students in the QUTIC learning facilities at on . The survey consisted of ten questions of varying format, including one open-ended question which solicited students’ opinions on the handling of legal rights information by the university. Questionnaires were distributed to 20 students accessing QUTIC after they indicated their willingness to participate, and the responses were collected immediately, with the survey only requiring four to five minutes for each student to complete. An analysis of the findings with a focus on several key questions of the survey is presented in the second part of this report. 1.4 Scope The scope of the research was limited by its scale and the short time available for the gathering of students’ responses. In order not to inconvenience the participants who were gracious enough to volunteer a bit of their time for the survey, the survey was kept short and designed to be completed in just a few minutes. Only 20 students were surveyed because of the short time available to complete the study, and this would ordinarily be a sample size too small to make any firm assertions. In this study, however, the survey was designed very carefully and revised numerous times to present questions of a sufficiently general nature so that a very small sample group would provide a reasonably accurate reflection of overall student attitudes. 2. Analysis of Results and Discussion 2.1 Students’ Perceptions and Concern for Legal Rights Issues Questions 1, 4, and 7 of the survey addressed students’ perceptions of their own understanding of their legal rights, what means they usually preferred for finding information about a topic such as legal rights, and their particular concerns regarding legal rights matters. Fig. 1: Students’ responses to Question 1 2.1.1 Discussion - Q1: How well do you feel you understand your legal rights as a student at QUT? As indicated by the responses to Question 1, only 20% of the respondents felt they had a reasonably good understanding of their legal rights, while the majority – 12 of the 20 participants – described their legal rights knowledge as “average”. 2.1.2 Conclusion No student admitting to having no knowledge at all of their legal rights; this might be considered a positive sign, because any initiative to provide more information can at least be based on a minimal understanding on everyone’s part. Students’ legal rights concerns Issue Average Response Most Responses (Selection Number/Percentage) Immigration/Visa laws and rules 2.15 1/45% Criminal law and law enforcement 3.55 4/45% Business-related legal issues 3.3 5/35% Human rights/discrimination issues 2.8 2 and 3/35% each Finance and tax law 2.9 3/35% Table 1: Students’ legal rights concerns 2.1.3 Discussion – Students’ concern with various legal rights issues Question 7 asked students to rate their concern with various legal issues on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 signifying the issue was “very important” to them, and 1 signifying that the issue was “not important at all.” To determine the comparative importance overall of the different issues, the numerical values of the responses were averaged, and yielded some surprising results. Immigration and visa-related concerns were rated overall at just slightly above “not very important,” while criminal law and law enforcement concerns were rated as “important” overall. 2.1.4 Conclusion The relatively low level of concern for immigration and visa issues is somewhat surprising considering that the survey respondents are all international students. When one considers that a response of “3” represents a neutral opinion, only criminal law/police issues and business-related legal concerns could be said to represent overall concerns of the students. That is perhaps understandable because recent news has highlighted problems of discrimination against foreigners in Australia, even in Queensland in particular. (Marginson, 2010) Students’ information-seeking preferences Information Source Average Response Printed material. 2.7 Lecture/seminar. 2.15 Website. 2.6 Information booth/bulletin board. 3.65 Consultation with legal experts or University officials. 3.9 Table 2: Students’ information-seeking preferences 2.1.5 Discussion - Student preferences in seeking information on a new topic Question 4 asked students what ways they generally preferred to find information about a subject of interest, such as (but not necessarily) legal rights. The survey respondents expressed a strong preference for being able to consult with experts or University officials, or being able to visit and information booth or bulletin board. 2.1.6 Conclusion The responses for Question 4 serve as a measure of student enthusiasm for an information source in the form of the Legal Rights Information Fair, and the clear preferences for information-gathering methods that involve interaction with knowledgeable people, i.e., the latter two choices suggested by the question, are a positive sign for the staging of a Legal Rights Information Fair. 2.2 Student Interest in a Legal Rights Information Fair Questions 2, 5 and 6 specifically addressed students’ interest in a Legal Rights Information Fair and sought details as to what time and location might be preferred. Fig. 2: Student Interest in a Legal Rights Information Fair 2.2.1 Discussion – Interest in participating in a Legal Rights Information Fair 80% of the survey participants expressed some level of interest in the event, with no respondents expressing no interest, and 20% stating they would be “very interested.” 2.2.2 Conclusion Preferred Location On Campus Off Campus In Park No. of responses 80% 10% 10% It is encouraging that such a large majority of the students would have some interest in attending or participating in a Legal Rights Information Fair. This is an indication that the event would be a success in terms of the number of potential visitors or participants. Preferred Location of the Event Table 3a: Preferred Location of the Event 2.3.1 Discussion – Preferred location for the Legal Rights Information Fair The overwhelming preference of students was that such an event be held on campus. 2.3.2 Conclusion The Legal Rights Information Fair should be held at an on-campus location. Preferred Time of the Event Preferred Time of the Event Regular Daytime Hours Evening Weekend No. of responses 40% 20% 40% Table 3b: Preferred Time of the Event 2.4.1 Discussion – Preferred time for the Legal Rights Information Fair Opinion was evenly divided between weekends or regular school hours as to a preferred time of the event, with only a few respondents preferring an evening schedule. 2.4.2 Conclusion Since equal preference was expressed for either an event during regular daytime hours or an event on a weekend, other factors of the planning would have to guide which of those two options is eventually selected. 3. Recommendations The background literature clearly points out a need for an event like the Legal Rights Information Fair and the results of the survey of international students at QUT clearly shows that there is considerable interest in the subject among students. Based on this information, the following recommendations can be offered. Since no planning has been done on the Legal Rights Information Fair to this point, these can be considered the starting point for organising the event: 3.1 The Legal Rights Information Fair should be held at an on-campus location (see Table 3a). 3.2 The event should be scheduled during daytime hours (see Table 3b), but whether during the regular weekdays or on a weekend will depend upon the availability of the on-campus venue and the resource persons (see below). 3.3 Experts such as attorneys and University officials should be recruited to provide information and informal advice to the students attending the Legal Rights Information Fair, as indicated by the preferences of the survey respondents (see Table 2). The Department of Justice of the State of Queensland maintains an office of Body Corporate and Community Management responsible for educational services and disseminating public legal information (State of Queensland, 2010); the organising committee should contact this office for referral to attorneys or attorneys’ groups who could support the event, as well as to obtain informational materials that can be distributed at the event. 4. Benefits The Legal Rights Information Fair will benefit QUT students by creating an informal and interesting means for them to gain new information about their legal rights and responsibilities, which will help them to avoid misunderstandings and negative consequences as a result of a legal issue in the future, as was pointed out by Wintersteiger (2008) and Rolfe, Sheehan, and Davidson (2008). This will in turn benefit the University and the QUT community as a whole by hopefully reducing the incidence of legal problems, thanks to a student body better-informed on this important subject. The Legal Rights Information Fair will also benefit participating attorneys. As the U.S. Department of Justice explains, among attorneys the need for public education and information about available services in support of legal rights has become a matter of professional responsibility, and participating in events such as this not only gives them a chance to perform community outreach but also to support their business interest by introducing them to potential new clients. (Office for Victims of Crime, 1998) References Australian Human Rights Commission. (2010) rightsED: Human Rights Education Resources for Teachers. [Internet] Available from: www.humanrights.gov.au/education/ understanding_human_rights. BC Civil Liberties Association. (n.d.) “Legal Rights”. In: Rights Talk: Students and Civil Liberties at School. British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. [Internet] Available from: http://www.bccla.org/rightstalk/legal_rights.pdf. Cambron-McCabe, N., McCarthy, M., and Thomas, S. (2008) Legal Rights of Teachers and Students, 2nd Edition. London: Pearson Education. Marginson, S. (2010) “GLOBAL: International Student Security”. University World News [Internet], 107: 17 January 2010. Available from: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20100114185440897. Office for Victims of Crimes. (1998) “Chapter 9: The Legal Community”. In: New Directions from the Field: Victims Rights and Services for the 21st Century. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice. [Internet] Available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/new/ directions/pdftxt/chap9.pdf. Queensland Government. (2010) “Information service”. State of Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General. [Internet] Available from: http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/justice-services/body-corporate-and-community-management/information-service. Rolfe, T., Sheehan, B., and Davidson, R. (2008) “Are consumers on community treatment orders informed of their legal and human rights? A West Australian study”. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, Issue 17: 36-43. [Internet] DOI: 10.1111/j.1447-0349.2007.00509.x. Wintersteiger, L. (2008) “Young people's experience of law-related events: The role of public legal education”. Public Legal Education Network , Advice Services Alliance. [Internet] Law Centres Federation (UK). Available from: www.lawcentres.org.uk/uploads/ Young_Peoples_Experience_and_PLE.pdf. Read More