Four Year BA Honours Degree In Transformational Leadership

Arrupe Jesuit University School of Education & Leadership Faculty of Arts and  The Grail Centre Trust jointly offer the BA Honours degree programme.

The Transformational Leadership programme started in 2002 with the aim of creating a new level of critically conscious development educators whose theory is grounded in practice. It draws on the four ‘Training for Transformation’ manuals written by Anne Hope and Sally Timmel. Since its inception it has conducted Diploma and Certificate courses, training more than 300 civil society leaders and activists from 200 organisations in 40 countries.

The Grail Centre Trust is a Non-Profit Organisation based in Kleinmond, Western Cape, South Africa. The Grail is an international, faith-based movement of women, founded in 1921 in the Netherlands and currently present in 18 countries, including 6 in Africa. Grail women are of different cultures, social backgrounds and generations, called to create a sustainable world, transforming our planet into a place of peace and justice. The Grail describes its mission as “the courage to care”. Caring is seen here as an ethical choice, which informs the following actions:

• The restoration of the dignity of the human person by overcoming poverty and fostering quality of life;
• The fostering of social trust and relationships of equality by living in solidarity;
• The deep exploration of the foundations of a new planetary ethic.

The unique nature of this course lies in its emphasis on the transformation of destructive development structures through the conscientization and mobilization of disempowered people. The focus is predominantly aimed at community-level activism although it includes policy analysis and advocacy. The course methodology is based on the work of Paulo Freire and other similar development thinkers, and the content renewed and contextualized to address the particular problems of the 21st century.

THE GOALS OF THE BA HONOURS

1. To build a new level of leadership in the development education field that is grounded in good theory and practice.
2. To build the knowledge base, analytic abilities and skills of teams from NGOs and community organisations to empower local self-reliant community development efforts and to link these efforts within wider global and national movements within civil society.
3. To build the confidence and skills of students to work with and challenge their governments to ensure the adoption of macro-economic policies that are to the advantage of the marginalized.
4. To deepen the vision, values and commitment to justice, peace and a culture of caring.

THE OVERALL OBJECTIVES

1. To review development problems and issues locally, nationally and globally.
2. To examine how development processes respond to fundamental human needs.
3. To examine behavioral manifestations of inappropriate responses to human needs.
4. To introduce the concept of gender and feminism in development.
5. To examine the impact of culture on development.
6. To explore the role and effect of eco-spirituality in development.
7. To examine different ways of learning and to highlight the role of critical pedagogy and popular education in facilitating change processes.

OUTCOMES OF THE PROGRAMME

We aim at outcomes on three levels:

• a new generation of leadership developed
• a transformation of organisations to build social movements
• programmes to combat poverty in local communities
• job creation opportunities with people

These will be ‘measured’ through specific criteria developed by students in their fieldwork and ongoing work after the training course.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

• women and men who have been trainers, with at least 2 – 3 years of experience with grassroots groups, willing to analyses their programmes and their commitment
• people capable of understanding their national economy, and who demonstrate the ability to see beyond their local community and to study global trends

Also the prospective students must meet the regular university requirement in Zimbabwe or country of origin for a BA honours degree (5 O Levels, 2 A levels including English and Mathematics), relevant diplomas and certificates will be considered. All will be considered without discrimination of race, age, nationality, gender or religion etc.