Arik K. Short (Texas A & M University School of Law), Curative Identity Formation Themes to Counteract Law School’s Curative Identity Formation Themes to Counteract Law School’s Hidden Curriculum, 2 Journal of Law Teaching and Learning 123 (2025):

Introduction

. . . In important ways, the traditional U.S. law school experience—including curricular, as well as co- and extracurricular offerings—is exceptionally effective at preparing students to enter the legal profession. But it also operates in ways that create unrealistic impressions of the practice of law, generate unnecessary pressure and anxiety, and discourage students from developing competencies that would help them thrive as lawyers. Those pernicious effects of law school most obviously flow from the hidden curriculum.

. . . In short, the hidden curriculum of law school molds, incentivizes, and pressures our students in countless ways that can be misleading, unhealthy, and at odds with our purported goal of preparing them for a successful and healthy career in law.

. . . One direct way to present countervailing messaging is through a required 1L course on professional identity formation (PIF). As described in this article, there are a number of benefits of explicitly addressing PIF topics early in law school, and doing so not only more effectively prepares our students to become practicing attorneys, it also responds directly to some of the more problematic effects of the hidden curriculum. Part I provides a brief overview of some of the existing avenues available to law schools to communicate identity-related themes to students—the context in which a 1L course could operate—including their strengths and limitations. Part II explores some of the explicit benefits of requiring a year- or semester-long PIF course. And Part III identifies four specific PIF themes that can be woven into a required 1L course to counteract especially damaging effects of lawschool’s hidden curriculum. By intentionally and explicitly addressing those negative effects, we will better carry out our missions of preparing students for a successful and satisfying career in law.