‘Mother of law-related education’ in Canada honored
Wanda Cassidy, 778.782.4484; wanda_cassidy@sfu.ca (away as of March 14)
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.3210; marianne_meadahl@sfu.ca
Simon Fraser University education professor Wanda Cassidy is being recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) for her work to improve legal literacy in schools across the country.
Cassidy is the recipient of the ABA’s Isidore Starr Award for Excellence in Law-Related Education. The award – the first to be given by the 400,000-member association to a recipient outside of the U.S. – was presented at an ABA conference in Chicago March 5.
The ABA established the award in 1983 to honor Starr, considered the father of law-related education. Cassidy, according to the ABA, has been called the mother of law-related education in Canada.
It recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions in promoting excellence in law-related education in elementary or secondary schools.
Cassidy has served as the director of SFU’s Centre for Education, Law and Society, which she helped create, for more than 25 years. It’s the only university-based centre in the country dedicated to improving young people’s legal literacy through teaching, curriculum, research and community initiatives.
The centre offers credit courses and professional development opportunities to more than 500 teachers and students annually.
“My goal from the start has been to provide young people with a greater understanding of the role that law plays in their lives and in our democracy, and to encourage them to take a more active role in helping to create a just, fair and equitable society," says Cassidy.
Cassidy continues to work with teachers and students across the country promoting the value of law-related education.
Carolyn Pereira, executive director emeritus of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, says Cassidy “recognizes the power of law-related education to further important cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral outcomes for students to become participatory and justice-oriented members of their community, their province, and their nation.”
Teacher Mary Hubbard, a member of the award review committee, wrote that Cassidy has “reached out to all types of communities,” and is an “obvious innovative, forward-thinking advocate” for law-related education.”
Cassidy’s efforts have led to revisions in the B.C. social studies curriculum to include a focus on law, and beyond schools, to the establishment of the Research Committee of the Public Legal Education Association of Canada.
Cassidy, a frequent media commentator on a wide range of legal education issues, including cyber-bullying, continues to investigate ways to increase Canadian students’ understanding of the Canadian legal system, the rule of law, and their rights and responsibilities as Canadian citizens.
Author of several books, including Once Upon a Crime: Using Stories, Simulations and Mock Trials to Explore Justice and Citizenship in Elementary School (2005), she recently released an award-winning DVD called Dare to Care: Transforming Schools Through the Ethics of Care, based on an ongoing research project, which describes the role that ethical caring can play in schools and the wider community.