This unit will equip candidates to interrogate the system dynamics of their role and develop deeper critical contextual understanding. They will draw upon theories informing practice in the areas of ontology (being) and epistemology (knowing), including Indigenous perspectives and Christian and other faith or spiritual traditions. Candidates will engage in evaluative analysis of issues such as conflict, accountability, power and authority, conflicts of interest, inequality and ethical dilemmas that create tension and impinge on personal and organisational integrity. How these issues are nuanced by diverse cultural understandings for sustainable change in communities will be critically explored.
Unit code: PPX104Z
Unit status: Approved (Minor revision)
Points: 18.0
Unit level: Doctoral
Unit discipline: Professional Practice
Proposing College: School of Graduate Research
Show when this unit is running| 1. | Interrogate system dynamics. |
| 2. | Critically engage with theoretical, spiritual/theological and cultural understandings of ontology and epistemology. |
| 3. | Critically evaluate the impact of selected ethical dilemmas on personal and organisational integrity. |
| 4. | Evaluate, in collaboration with others, how diverse cultural understandings can contribute to sustainable change in communities impacted by nominated issues |
Frameworks for Critical Praxis in Professional Contexts (PPX102Z); Research Methodologies for Professional Practice (PPX106Z); Critical Engagement with Scholarship (PPX103Z). This unit will be the first unit in Year 2 for those studying part-time.
By teaching through collegial collaboration and learning via critical reflection conducted independently and in community, the unit engages theory and practice to achieve learning outcomes.
| Type | Description | Word count | Weight (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop - Ethical Dilemma Workshop | Drawing on key resources provided across the unit and beyond, candidates work in peer groups to lead a workshop inviting critical discussion of a case study of an ethical dilemma impacting personal, contextual and systemic integrity. |
3000 | 50.0 |
| Investigation - Practical Research | Candidates engage with a mature expert practitioner who works or has worked in a field relevant to the candidate's research. They investigate that person's spiritual and/or theological and cultural understanding of being and knowing and how this impacts their thinking and practice in their professional context. Candidates then critically compare and contrast this with their own. |
3000 | 50.0 |
Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 16 Feb, 2026
Unit record last updated: 2026-02-16 08:55:37 +1100