Establishing Learning Outcomes Under ABA Standard 302: Cultural Competence

Abstract

ABA Standard 302 comments identify "cultural competency" as one of the "other professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession." Legal writing courses provide an ideal setting for raising awareness of the importance of sensitivity to diverse cultural mores. One way is by creating an assignment that demonstrates how viewing determinative facts from a strictly Western lens might lead to an unfair outcome. This article provides an example of an assignment that established, implemented and assessed cultural competency as a learning outcome, without sacrificing substantive coverage.

Keywords: ABA Standard 302, Standard 302, cultural competency, cultural competence, sensitivity, cultural, diverse, diversity, practical, skills, experiential, assessment