MA in Christian Leadership in Education

Course details

Mary Immaculate College has recently announced details of an exciting and timely new professional qualification programme entitled MA in Christian Leadership in Education. This programme will be offered by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies (TRS), Mary Immaculate College and will be under the academic leadership of the TRS in association with CEIST five Catholic Religious Congregations engaged in post primary education (Daughters of Charity, Presentation Sisters, Sisters of the Christian Retreat, Sisters of Mercy, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart).

This two year programme, which is being subsidised by the St. Stephen’s Green Trust, a funding agency for Catholic charities, will lead to a professional qualification with a strong theology component for those working in the education sector such as school principals, members of boards of management, members of the trusts established by the various denominational bodies in Ireland, etc. Successful applicants will be eligible for grant aid.

Speaking on the recent announcement of this programme Course Coordinator, Dr. Eugene Duffy said “Since the establishment of CEIST, those managing the Trust have identified the need for a cohort of potential leaders to sustain and foster the Christian ethos of the schools within their care. The St. Stephen’s Green Trust has also identified the need for a more theologically literate group of leaders within Irish society, capable of informing public debate with a Christian perspective on matters of public importance. The timely introduction of this new MA in Christian Leadership in Education will respond to this need”.

The programme, which will be offered will combine practice, policy and theory of education and education leadership and will also include Summer Schools commencing this June. Some modules may eventually be available through distance learning, or can be taught through a number of flexible modes of delivery, including guided readings.

According to Dr. Duffy it is envisaged that the programme will enhance the development of the leadership capacity in the second-level educational sector in the country. He continued saying that “on successful completion of this programme participants will be able to articulate and evaluate critically current principles of Christian educational leadership and will be in a position to apply best practice in building a positive learning environment in the school based on Christian principles”.

St Stephen's Green Trust is a grant-giving organisation which supports organisations working in Ireland to improve the lives of people who are affected by poverty/disadvantage and social exclusionb. Speaking on their decision to subsidise this course Orla O’Neill, Grants and Development Director with St. Stephen’s Green Trust said “The SSGT trustees welcome the new MA as a timely, focused and significant contribution to Christian leadership development within Irish second level institutions. The programme will help build much needed educational capacity, respond to the widespread desire for an authentic personal spirituality, which is contagious, address the acknowledged 'deficit' in theological literacy and the widespread hunger for justice and inclusiveness in Irish Society”.