Fiona Boyle is a Senior Lecturer in Law and co-programme lead for the LLB at the University of Cumbria. Fiona is a qualified solicitor with over twenty-five years of teaching experience. She teaches Constitutional law including Human and Nature Rights, as well as being involved with skills and placement modules. Her research interests include legal education, student engagement, and sustainable development. Fiona holds a PhD in Higher Education Research and Evaluation from Lancaster University. She is committed to the belief that education plays a vital role in democracy and in guiding society towards a more sustainable future.
Fiona is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Association of Law Teachers and the Law Society of England and Wales.
Fiona lives in the Lake District and is involved in Keswick Mountain Rescue Team. She was previously the official legal advisor to Mountain Rescue England & Wales.
PhD; PGCert Ed. and Cert On-line Ed.
Solicitor of the Supreme Court
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Member of the Law Society of England & Wales
Member of the Society of Legal Scholars
Member of the Association of Law Teachers
Member Heterodox Academy
Fiona has a particular interest in the areas of legal education and education for sustainable development. She has been involved in a range of research projects and has published papers on trainee solicitors' experiences of well-being, personal development planning, reflective learning, student complaints, student engagement and curriculum change.
She has written textbooks on legal skills and civil litigation. Fiona has, in the past, served as a Member of the Law Society's Training Committee, a Member of the Advisory Panel to the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct, ACLEC and a Member of the Law Society's Human Rights Working Party.
Boyle, F. and Cook, E.J. (2025) ‘Navigating complexity in sustainability and climate action: comparing participatory action research and developmental evaluation in higher education’, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-09-2024-0677.
Boyle FA, Buchanan FM, Ritchie D, Gamage KAA. Exploring Staff–Student Partnership in Curriculum Design. Education Sciences. 2024; 14(1):61. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14010061
Slates, et al. (2023). How can students-as-partners work address challenges to student, faculty, and staff mental health and well-being? International Journal for Students as Partners, 7(2), 221–240. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v7i2.5597
Boyle, F., & Cook, E. J. (2023). Developmental evaluation of teaching quality: Evidencing practice. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(1). https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol20/iss1/11
Boyle, F., Ritchie, D. (2023). Caring About Complaints: Perceptions of Complaints Procedures Considered Through the Lens of Ethic of Care. In: Strevens, C., Jones, E. (eds) Wellbeing and the Legal Academy. SpringerBriefs in Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20691-7_7
Boyle F., Molloy E., Rutland L., Todd N., Widish M. (2022, March). Law Students as Partners in Curriculum Review, AdvanceHE Sustainability Symposium, online.
Boyle F., Buchanan F., Ritchie D., Todd N. (2023, June). Students as Partners in Curriculum Design: An Assessment of the Benefits of a Partnership Approach, University of Cumbria, Teaching and Learning Conference.
‘A Practical Guide to Lawyering Skills’ – A student guide to theory and practice relating to legal skills. F Boyle, D Capps, Cavendish.
Data Protection for MR Teams. MREW Magazine and various presentations, 2013.
Presentation of papers relating to the use of webfolios in Personal Development Planning: Conferences – ALT 2009, BILETA 2009, LILAC 2010.
