Faith Leadership Issues in the Australian Society - Assignment Example

This personal account of the learning journey provides the outline of my own personal reflections that may help Catholic school leaders or teachers, and even non-Catholics working or teaching in a Catholic school, develop their understanding of faith leadership and its importance. Knowing what faith leadership is and how to exercise it is important for those who have a strong commitment to share the faith with others or who have been appointed to a leadership or teaching position in a Catholic school.

This is so because in a world that has grown more liberal, and where statistics show the numbers of Catholics who practice their faith are decreasing, faith leadership acquires an important role in guiding Catholic school leaders and faculty on how to do their task well and measure their effectiveness at what they do by reminding them of the purpose behind the existence of the school, which is to educate children and imbue them with a Catholic education. Without faith leadership, a Catholic school would be like any other private school, devoid of higher distinguishing goals such as education in the faith and Christian virtues.

  The first step in this learning journey is to know the basic principles and challenges of faith leadership and to know how to apply these principles and face the challenges ahead. This assignment summarises the key points of the seven modules in this unit: Module 1 introduces the focus of study in the unit, the rationale for the study of faith leadership, and the research questions that would be addressed and answered in this unit. Module 2 explores the socio-cultural context of faith leadership and the challenge facing faith leaders in Catholic schools.

Module 3 considers the issue of being faithful within the Catholic tradition and explains in greater detail what it actually means to be Christian and Catholic. Module 4 is on the phenomenon of lay faith leadership and explores different theological accounts of the laity, their relationship with the clergy and religious orders, and their role in the Church. Module 5 is on the nature and purpose of faith leadership in Catholic schools with special reference to a moderate, post-Vatican II perspective on the role of the laity.

Module 6 addresses the issue of faith leadership in Catholic schools and explores the implications of this issue for Catholic school leaders. Module 7 considers the practical implications of faith leadership in Catholic schools with reference to the issue of formation as well as power and authority.