BBI-TAITE Units

Curriculum Objectives

This unit invites students to explore some of the key issues and events of the Christian tradition through the lens of women’s lives and engagement with women’s stories. Using a narrative approach, students will examine how the stories by women and the stories about women have shaped women’s agency and influenced the development of Christianity. Through an examination of both the marginalisation and the promotion of women’s stories, students will assess the impact of women’s voices to break open contemporary issues and offer new ways of understanding the narratives of the Christian tradition.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of the place and role of women in foundational Christian narratives
• examine key concerns of women’s engagement with the stories of their religious Tradition
• analyse current cultural, ethical and professional issues from the perspective of women’s lives and experiences, and
• evaluate the contribution of women’s voices within contemporary church and society.

Assumed Knowledge 

T8106 and B8101

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

TBC

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This unit develops students’ skills to use Biblical scholarship, contemporary research, and theories about how students learn to provide high-impact learning opportunities. It covers:

• Teacher readiness to teach the text, including exploring how to interpret the Bible from a Catholic hermeneutical perspective and the identification and teaching of key concepts;
• Informed pedagogical decision-making, including investigating learner needs, learning processes and characteristics of age-appropriate pedagogies; and
• Designing and monitoring Scripture learning for school-aged students.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will:

• demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding to use Biblical commentaries and tools to learn about Scripture
• demonstrate the ability to discover appropriate meaning from Scripture
• demonstrate the identification of age-appropriate content to teach Scripture
• demonstrate skills for informed pedagogical decision-making to plan engaging and innovative units of work, and
• demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills for analysing Scripture teaching to build stronger professional practice.

Assumed Knowledge

D8120 and D8121

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

TBA

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute, we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study, each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This course unit introduces students to concepts that provide a foundation for the study of Christian worship.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• demonstrate a knowledge of the biblical, theological, cultural and historical foundations for the practice of Christian worship within a particular tradition
• articulate the current issues within Christian worship
• use and evaluate a wide range of liturgical resources
• prepare and conduct a range of liturgical services, and
• differentiate the riches of the Christian liturgical traditions.

Assumed Knowledge 

T7101 and B7101

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Prof Gerard Moore

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

NOTE: This unit is only available as part of the Undergraduate Certificate in Theology offered to students from Sydney Catholic Schools.

Curriculum Objectives

This course unit introduces students into the nature and tasks of theology and to theological methodology. It provides a foundation for all future theology course units.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the nature and purpose of theology
• identify and explain the doctrinal presuppositions that are the foundation for theology
• analyse the writing of several theological thinkers and key theological texts, ancient and modern
• make use of an appropriate methodology for particular theological tasks
• apply the skills of theological reflection to life in the community of faith

Curriculum Objectives

This unit provides opportunities for students to develop a foundational knowledge and understanding of governance in Catholic Church organisations. Theoretical insights from selected organisational research will be explored for their relevance to the variety of ways in which governance is exercised in the Church’s different contexts and organisational arrangements.  In particular it will focus on the relationship between governance, mission, ministry and work.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• demonstrate specialised knowledge of the organisational and theoretical aspects of Catholic Church governance and its relationship to the wider field of the governance
  of non-profit organisations
• demonstrate specialised knowledge of the relationship between Mission and Governance, how work or ministry is organised to fulfil the Mission, and the capacity to apply such knowledge in specific professional contexts
• demonstrate an ability to analyse and critically evaluate the governance arrangements of the Catholic Church and its various organisational forms, and
• demonstrate skills in deploying imagination and creativity in solving problems related to governance in mission and ministry contexts.

Assumed Knowledge 

Not applicable

Study hours   

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturers

Br John Henry Thornber cfc

Mr Michael Thornber

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This unit provides opportunities for students to develop a foundational knowledge and understanding of canon law. The fundamental principles of canon law, as well as its application, are studied in various Catholic Church organisations and contexts. Students have the opportunity to consider the particular context in which they work, or have a particular interest, while analysing their understanding of Church governance in a canonical framework.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• demonstrate specialised knowledge of canonical terminology and the ability to apply this knowledge in the context of Church organisations
• demonstrate specialised knowledge and understanding of the history, nature and sources of the Code of Canon Law (Latin or Eastern), and its relationship with theology and the mission of the Church, as well as the capacity to analyse, consolidate, and synthesise such knowledge, and
• undertake a detailed analysis and application of those General Norms relevant to the students’ work or interest, demonstrating specialised knowledge in so doing, as well as the capacities for problem solving and application of knowledge in a professional or ministry context.

Assumed Knowledge 

Not applicable

Study hours    

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Rev Fr Matthew Muller

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This unit will provide detailed analysis of the organisational structure of Church, with reference to relevant codes of canon law. Initial attention is given to the obligations and rights of all the Christian faithful as described by canon law. An understanding of the theological and canonical characteristics of the diocese, as an organisational unit of the Catholic Church, is developed. The concept of a public juridic person is studied, in relation to a wide range of Church organisations. Students are given the opportunity to analyse a specific Church organisation through this framework, including:

• Dioceses, diocesan agencies and parishes
• Religious Institutes
• Associations of the Faithful
• Ministerial Juridic Persons and other ecclesial organisations

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students will:

• demonstrate specialised knowledge of the relationship between theology and ecclesial structures
• demonstrate specialised knowledge of the relationship between theology and canon law in regard to ecclesial structures, and
• demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of ecclesial structures relevant to a diocese including its juridical personality.

Assumed Knowledge 

P8160 & P8169

Study hours    

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Rev Fr Matthew Muller

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit examines the practice of stewardship as it occurs through the bishops’ participation in the threefold munera of sanctifying, teaching and governing.

The biblical foundation of stewardship arises out of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church – Lumen Gentium. The unit opens with an examination of the relationship between the key elements of stewardship and the role of bishop, as prescribed by the Second Vatican Council. Students will consider ways in which ecclesial change in the post-conciliar Church resulted in a move towards a decentralised Church.

The impact on the bishop’s role of governance as vicar of Christ is considered, with particular reference to power and autonomy in decision-making.  This will involve study of The Directory on the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops. The depiction of bishop as shepherd will lead students to consider how the guiding principles of the Directory help shape the bishop’s role in administering the particular Church through acts of governance that are undertaken in direct response to stewardship.

Finally, the study of relevant aspects of Book V of the Code of Canon Law will assist students to understand the concept of ecclesiastical goods and how they are regulated in Church law. The principals of the effective stewardship of temporal goods are considered, with particular focus given to the canonical action of alienation of ecclesiastical property (canons 1290-1298). Students are given the opportunity to explore methods of best practice through a case study of a diocese or religious institute.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the biblical notion of stewardship as incorporated into key relevant documents of the Second Vatican Council.
• demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which decentralisation has impact on the bishop’s role of governance, and how this helps define the essential virtues and principles found in the exercise of stewardship. This includes discernment of ways in which care for the Particular Church is divested through the bishop, to local Church, in ways that encourage lay participation in the bishop’s work of stewardship.
• explain the concept of ‘ecclesiastical goods’ and their regulation in canon law within the different structures of the Church, in dioceses and religious institutes, with a particular focus on canons 113-123, 634-640 and 1254-1310. This includes examination of statutory requirements of accountability, delegation and reserved powers in the governance of temporal goods of a public juridic person, with particular reference to canons 113-123, and c. 1303.
• undertake the completion of a specific case study illustrating ways in which dioceses are structured through Vatican II and canon law to assist bishops to enable the exercise of stewardship in the local Church.

Unit content

• • Stewardship – what are we talking about? Stewardship and its relationship to Governance
  • Scriptural and Theological basis of Stewardship
  • Virtues and Principles of Pastoral Governance
  • Structures of Participation of the Lay Faithful
  • Juridic Persons and Juridic Acts
  • Pastoral Stewardship
  • Financial Stewardship
  • Other Temporal Goods Issues

Assumed Knowledge 

P8160 Introduction to Governance for Mission, Ministry and Work in the Church
P8169 Introduction to Canon Law and General Norms

Study hours    

11 hours per week for 11 week session, comprised of

• At least 1 hour per week for online lectures
• At least 4 hours per week of reading.
• At least 6 hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Rev Fr Matthew Muller

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This graduate course unit provides students with demonstrated initiative and creativity an opportunity to focus at an advanced level in a particular area of Leadership, under the tutelage and guidance of a specialist in the field. The unit is designed to refine the skills of independent study by allowing the student to define their own study, and to set their own goals by means of an extended guided reading program.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• develop a focused topic for independent scholarly investigation
• conduct independent research, under supervision, in terms of locating, utilizing and referencing a wide range of appropriate primary and secondary sources
• analyse and evaluate with critical empathy a range of disparate scholarly positions
• defend an independent perspective on the topic of the investigation, and
• produce a cogent set of researched findings in an extended piece of academic writing.

Assumed Knowledge 

For Governance and Canon Law students: P8160 & P8169, and for Leadership students: P8155, M8161 & P9264

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least 10 hour per week of directed study, including reading, research, consultation with tutor and writing up of assessment tasks.

Coordinator and Supervisor

Dr Ken Avenell and Rev Fr Matthew Muller

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This unit provides opportunities for students to develop knowledge and understanding of religious education in both its conceptual and practical aspects. Theoretical insights from research in general education contexts will be explored for their relevance to prominent theories of religious education. The importance of historical, philosophical and theological insights to current religious education practices will be examined for their significance to particular settings and the practical context(s) of the students in question. The unit will ultimately challenge students to relate their knowledge of religious education to a specific setting in which religious education is practised.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of the conjunction of religious education theory and educational research and theory in general
• understand prominent religious education theory in formal religious and public education contexts, and
• demonstrate knowledge of current models of religious education to be found in religious and public education settings.

Assumed Knowledge 

Not applicable

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Assoc Prof Kath Engebretson

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.