THCT603 - Theology for Leadership in the Church's Mission

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, which reflects the standard volume of learning for a unit in a University qualification of this Australian Qualifications.

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit explores the foundations of the Christian narrative and its relevance to leadership in contemporary society, especially with regard to the Church’s mission of education. The unit investigates the origin and destiny of the human person in the light of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ, the sacramentality of creation, and the ambiguity of the human condition. The dynamic nature of the Christian community’s relationship with wider society and culture provides a key theological perspective for engaging with and reflecting on the Church’s service of education. The aim of this unit is to provide students with an opportunity to investigate what it means to be a leader and to lead within the context of a Catholic educational community.  

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - articulate key principles of Christian leadership in its relationship with both Scripture and Tradition (GA2, GA5)

LO2 - evaluate critically differing contemporary notions of the human person in the light of Christian revelation (GA1, GA4)

LO3 - reflect critically on the role of leaders in Catholic educational communities and the implications of their leadership for the Church’s mission at the service of education (GA4, GA5)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

Content

Topics will include:

• Models of Christian leadership
• Mission of the Church
• Theology of revelation and tradition
• The Christian understanding of the human person and the nature of salvation
• Leadership in contemporary society
• The Enhancing Catholic School Identity research

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, which reflects the standard volume of learning for a unit in a University qualification of this Australian Qualifications Framework This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, which reflects the standard volume of learning for a unit in a University qualification of this Australian Qualifications Framework type.  

THCT603 is normally offered in intensive mode, delivered over two weekends, with reading and preparation to be undertaken before the first meeting. Students learn through formally structured and sequenced learning activities designed to support the achievement of the learning outcomes, as well as through informal group discussions and peer-to-peer dialogue. The approach to teaching and learning taken in this unit is designed to assist students to reflect critically, analyse, and integrate new information with existing knowledge, draw meaningful new connections, and consider the implications of their learning for their personal and professional practice. Collaborative and peer-to-peer learning is emphasised, and a spirit of dialogue is encouraged.

The unit is delivered with the expectation that participants are active, adult learners, intrinsically motivated and prepared to reflect critically on issues as well as on their own learning and perspectives. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to complete all assessment tasks and achieve an overall minimum grade of pass. All assessment tasks are designed for students to show their achievement of each learning outcome and graduate attribute. They require students to demonstrate the nexus between their learning, dispositions, and professional practice.

Task 1 is designed to enable students to reflect critically on their leadership in the context of a Catholic school and in light of the current challenges facing the Catholic community. It asks students to consider their professional experience and where they stand in relation to the enhancement of Catholic identity within the school, and to bring these insights into dialogue with the aims and recommendations of the Enhancing Catholic School Identity research. This task supports the achievement of learning outcomes one and three to the extent that it requires students to articulate principles of Christian leadership in the context of a Catholic school community and to reflect critically on the role that they play as participants in the Church’s mission at the service of education.

Task 2 is designed to enable students to demonstrate their integration of the material considered in the unit and their understanding of the implications of their learning for their professional practice. The task aims to provide students with a “real-world” application of their learning. They are asked to consider how, as leaders in Catholic schools, they might engage with a staff member who actively disengages from the development of Catholic identity in the school, and to bring into the dialogue insights from Christian anthropology and other theological themes discussed in the unit. In this way, the task supports the achievement of learning outcomes one, two and three.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Achikian, Danielle, Peter Gates, Lana Turvey and Stephen B. Bevans (eds). The Francis Effect: Living the Joy of the Gospel. North Sydney, NSW: Catholic Mission, 2013.

Boeve, Lieven, Theology at the Crossroads of University, Church and Society: Dialogue, Difference and Catholic Identity. London, UK: Bloomsbury, T&T Clark, 2016.

Boeve, Lieven. "Believing That There Is Hope for Love: The Promise of Christian Faith in the Resurrection of the Body." Pacifica 24, no. 1 (2011): 43-57.

Congregation for Catholic Education. Educating to Intercultural Dialogue in Catholic Schools: Living in Harmony for a Civilization of Love. Vatican City: Liberia Editrice Vaticana, 2013.

Congregation for Catholic Education. Educating to Fraternal Humanism. Vatican City: Liberia Editrice Vaticana, 2017.

Gaillardetz, Richard R. and Catherine E. Clifford, Keys to the Council: Unlocking the Teaching of Vatican II. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2012.

Himes, Michael J. The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism. Cincinnati, OH: St Anthony Messenger Press, 2004.

Pollefeyt, Didier. “Religious Education as Opening the Hermeneutical Space,” Journal of Religious Education 68, no. 2 (2020): 115-24.

Pollefeyt, Didier, and Jan Bouwens. Identity in Dialogue: Assessing and Enhancing Catholic School Identity. Research Methodology and Research Results in Catholic Schools in Victoria, Australia. Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2014.

Tuohy, David. Leading Life to the Full: Scriptural Reflections on Leadership in Catholic Schools. Dublin: Veritas, 2005.