Rethinking Networking: A PEDAGOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR PARALEGAL EDUCATION
Keywords:
NETWORKING, PARALEGAL EDUCATION, LEGAL EDUCATION, HIDDEN CURRICULUM, PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY FORMATION, EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING, NETWORKING SELF-EFFICACY, INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWING, NETWORKED LEARNING, CAREER READINESSAbstract
Networking is widely framed as essential to paralegal career preparation, yet student participation in professional paralegal associations remains uneven. Drawing on survey and interview data from paralegal students at San Diego Miramar College, this article argues that networking is not a neutral or universally accessible practice, but one shaped by self-efficacy, perceived readiness, and socio-economic constraints while also disentangling ambivalence toward the practice itself. Although students largely understand networking’s importance, translating that awareness into action is often inhibited by confidence gaps and structural barriers. Reframing networking as a transitional, learnable skill rather than a personal trait, the article proposes curriculum-embedded, guided approaches that shift the focus from telling students to network to teaching them how—and under what conditions—it becomes possible.
