SAQA

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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED UNIT STANDARD THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Describe, evaluate and apply ecumenical principles

SAQA US ID	UNIT STANDARD TITLE
115941	Describe, evaluate and apply ecumenical principles
ORIGINATOR
SGB Christian Theology and Ministry
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY
-
FIELD			SUBFIELD
Field 07 - Human and Social Studies			Religious and Ethical Foundations of Society
ABET BAND	UNIT STANDARD TYPE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	CREDITS
Undefined	Regular	Level 6	Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L6	12
REGISTRATION STATUS		REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE	SAQA DECISION NUMBER
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		2018-07-01	2023-06-30	SAQA 06120/18
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2024-06-30		2027-06-30

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This unit standard does not replace any other unit standard and is not replaced by any other unit standard.

PURPOSE OF THE UNIT STANDARD

This unit standard will be useful to people who are working with Christians across denominational boundaries, or who wish to evaluate their own Christian experience in a wider Christian context.

People credited with this unit standard are able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of ecumenism as a fundamental aspect of Christian faith and practice.

Analyse a church's life from an ecumenical perspective.

Challenge denominational stereotypes and conflicts biblically and theologically.

Propose ways of deepening collaboration between Christian bodies

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

The unit standard: 'Describe and apply key Christian teachings of faith communities'

UNIT STANDARD RANGE

N/A

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 1

Demonstrate an understanding of ecumenism as a fundamental aspect of Christian faith and practice.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

The principles of ecumenism are described with reference to their Biblical and historical background

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Old and New Testaments; the 20th century Ecumenical Movement both global and African.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

A basic understanding of the nature of the Christian church is demonstrated

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 2

Analyse a church's life from an ecumenical perspective.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Basic analytical skills are applied to the organisational life of a congregation.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

The beliefs and practices of the church being analysed are assessed comparatively, with reference to other models.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

At least two other models of church are used for comparative purposes

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 3

Challenge denominational stereotypes and conflicts biblically and theologically.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

The roots of Christian division are described and analysed.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Doctrinal, ecclesiological, cultural, personal

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Examples of division are critiqued

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

At least 2 specific examples

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

Solutions and alternatives to division are proposed, based on the principles of conflict resolution and reconciliation

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 4

Propose ways of deepening collaboration between Christian bodies

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Practical and workable blueprints for collaboration are outlined, with steps for their execution

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

At least two proposals, one of which should extend into the wider community

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

A field project based on one of the blueprints is initiated.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Because such projects take a long time to be developed, applied and assessed, the assessor should look for careful planning and initiation rather than completion.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

Likely problems and resistance are identified, and their causes highlighted

UNIT STANDARD ACCREDITATION AND MODERATION OPTIONS

Providers of learning towards this unit standard will need to meet the accreditation requirements of the appropriate ETQA.

Moderation Option:

The moderation requirements of the appropriate ETQA must be met in order to award credit to learners for this unit standard

UNIT STANDARD ESSENTIAL EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE

The following essential embedded knowledge will be assessed through assessment of the specific outcomes in terms of the stipulated assessment criteria. Candidates are unlikely to achieve all the specific outcomes, to the standards described in the assessment criteria, without knowledge of the listed embedded knowledge. This means that for the most part, the possession or lack of the knowledge can be directly inferred from the quality of the candidate's performance. Where direct assessment of knowledge is required, assessment criteria have been included in the body of the unit standard.

Basic principles of the unity of the people of God in Old Testament and New Testament.

An introduction to the history of ecumenism, with special reference to the Ecumenical Movement in Africa (particularly Southern Africa)

Christian belief and practice in different churches and cultures.

The concepts of unity in diversity; Missio Dei; visible and invisible church

UNIT STANDARD DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME

N/A

UNIT STANDARD LINKAGES

N/A

Critical Cross-field Outcomes (CCFO):

UNIT STANDARD CCFO IDENTIFYING

Identify and solve problems: One of the important outcomes of ecumenical action is to identify the sources of conflict and bring about transformation through the use of conflict resolution and [re]conciliation procedures

UNIT STANDARD CCFO WORKING

Work effectively with others and in teams: Ecumenism is by definition never an isolated action. It always involves working with others from different church traditions to bring about more unified and united action, worship and faith

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COLLECTING

Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information. This is done through the analytical and comparative description of church communities

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COMMUNICATING

Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills: Initiating an ecumenical project requires clear and focused language skills, as well as the assessment of non-verbal communication in a church context

UNIT STANDARD CCFO CONTRIBUTING

Contribute to the full development of oneself: Facilitating ecumenical activity opens an individual to reflecting upon their own faith context in relation to the faith context of others

Participate as a reliable citizen locally, nationally and internationally: Ecumenism is an aspect of the transformational philosophy that underlies all education in South Africa. It cultivates respect for those who hold different opinions and philosophies, and contributes to a more open world-view

UNIT STANDARD ASSESSOR CRITERIA

Assessors should keep the following general principles in mind when designing and conducting assessments against this unit standard:

Focus the assessment activities on gathering evidence in terms of the main outcome expressed in the title to ensure assessment is integrated rather than fragmented. Remember we want to declare the person competent in terms of the title. Where assessment at title level is unmanageable, then focus assessment around each specific outcome, or groups of specific outcomes.

Make sure evidence is gathered across the entire range, wherever it applies. Assessment activities should be as close to the real performance as possible, and where simulations or role-plays are used, there should be supporting evidence to show the candidate is able to perform in the real situation.

Do not focus the assessment activities on each assessment criterion. Rather make sure the assessment activities focus on outcomes and are sufficient to enable evidence to be gathered around all the assessment criteria.

The assessment criteria provide the specifications against which assessment judgements should be made. In most cases, knowledge can be inferred from the quality of the performances, but in other cases, knowledge and understanding will have to be tested through questioning techniques. Where this is required, there will be assessment criteria to specify the standard required.

The task of the assessor is to gather sufficient evidence, of the prescribed type and quality, as specified in this unit standard, that the candidate can achieve the outcomes again and again and again. This means assessors will have to judge how many repeat performances are required before they believe the performance is reproducible.

All assessments should be conducted in line with the following well documented principles of assessment: appropriateness, fairness, manageability, integration into work or learning, validity, direct, authentic, sufficient, systematic, open and consistent

The following particular issues should be taken into consideration when assessing against this unit standard:

Description of the nature of the church as a single organism.

Recognition of diversity as a value-free concept.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this unit standard was Reregistered in 2012; 2015.

UNIT STANDARD NOTES

Definition of Terms:

Terms have been clarified as far as possible through the use of range statements. Further clarification of terms is provided as follows:

Ecumenism is understood as all activity that transcends boundaries within the Christian church, whether formal or informal, theological, liturgical, ecclesiological or cultural.

QUALIFICATIONS UTILISING THIS UNIT STANDARD:

	ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	STATUS	END DATE	PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QA FUNCTIONARY
Elective	48917	National Diploma: Theology and Ministry	Level 5	NQF Level 05	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2023-06-30	As per Learning Programmes recorded against this Qual
Elective	62609	National Diploma: Theology and Ministry	Level 6	NQF Level 06	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2023-06-30	As per Learning Programmes recorded against this Qual

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS UNIT STANDARD:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

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