Exploring pathways to better mental health

Since 2014, the team of Po Leung Kuk school-based educational psychologists has noticed increasing levels of academic, work, and life stress among students, teachers, and parents. In response to this concern, the team established a dedicated working group to examine potential strategies for improving mental health. The team later participated in professional training and seminars delivered by Geelong Grammar School in Hong Kong and Australia. Site visits to local schools that had begun their Positive Education implementation journey, including the Chinese International School and Baptist Sha Tin Wai Lui Ming Choi Primary School, also contributed to a deeper understanding of the theory and practice of Positive Education.

Meanwhile, during the 2015 academic year, a concerning surge in student suicide cases was observed across Hong Kong, alongside a rising trend in mental health issues among parents. In light of these circumstances, the then Principal Education Secretary of the Po Leung Kuk Education Affairs Department advised the team to take a more active role in addressing the emerging social needs. Following in-depth discussions, the team decided to position the strategic implementation of Positive Education as one of Po Leung Kuk's long-term goals, with a commitment to enhancing the well-being and resilience of students, school staff, and parents.  

Subsequently, the team began actively planning training initiatives, initially drawing on internal resources from the School-based Educational Psychology Service to provide tailored training programmes for students, teachers, and parents. Po Leung Kuk's strategic plan aligns seamlessly with Geelong Grammar School's (GGS's) inspiring vision and expertise in implementing Positive Education. Recognizing this shared commitment, the team visited GGS in Australia in November 2016 to gain hands-on insights from GGS's remarkable journey in Positive Education.

In the process of exploring Positive Education, we were honoured to receive the support of Bei Shan Tang Foundation, the leading authority on Positive Education development in Hong Kong, establishing a trusted partnership to co-organise two three-day 'Discovering Positive Education' training courses. The course attracted over a hundred educators from Po Leung Kuk, including educational psychologists, teachers, and other professionals. All participants completed the training with an enhanced understanding of the theoretical foundations and potential benefits of Positive Education for both local schools and family education. Inspired by the experience, many expressed a strong desire to introduce Positive Education in their schools. However, constrained by limited resources, schools had to seek external funding to support implementation.

Participation in Positive Education Initiatives

From 2017 onward, Po Leung Kuk began progressively implementing Positive Education across its affiliated schools through participation in various projects. These projects aimed at enhancing the well-being of all stakeholders in school communities. These initiatives include: 

2017-2020: Jockey Club Positive Education 'Ascend and Radiate' (JC-PEAR) Project
2018-2024: Lee Hysan Foundation Po Leung Kuk Positive Education Movement in Kindergartens (2018-2021) and Quality Education Fund 'Flourishing Life Start from Childhood' Project (2021-2024)
2020-2023: Jockey Club Project Well-being
2021-2024: Po Leung Kuk Positive Education Movement in Primary Schools

Since the introduction of Positive Education in 2017, these initiatives have benefitted more than 37,389 individuals, including students, parents, teachers, non-teaching staff, and community members across kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools, supporting a total of 28,264 families.

What is Positive Education?

'Positive Education' refers to the application of evidence-based Positive Psychology theories across all aspects of schools and students' families (Seligman et al., 2009; Norrish et al., 2013). This Project aims to enhance the well-being of all school staff, students, and their families. 

Differed from traditional psychology, which primarily focuses on negative psychological issues, Positive Psychology is grounded in the principle of holistic development, which emphasises the cultivation, realisation, and development of personal strengths. Positive Psychology explores how key elements such as optimism and sense of accomplishment can be applied to support individuals in facing adversity and challenges, leading towards a flourishing life (Seligman et al., 2009).

How do we live out a flourishing life? 

American Psychologist Martin Seligman proposed the PERMA model as the foundational theory of well-being, identifying five core pillars: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (Seligman, 2011). 

Expanding upon this model, GGS incorporated an additional pillar, 'Health', broadening the theory and enriching the scope of Positive Psychology by extending it into six key domains. Under GGS's Positive Education framework, Character Strengths positioned in the inner blue circle represent the positive qualities and traits possessed by each individual (Hoare et al., 2017). Schools can enact the six domains of well-being by adopting the four pathways in the outer blue circle: 'Learn', 'Live', 'Teach', and 'Embed'. When Character Strengths and the six components of well-being are fully developed through these pathways, we will be able to reach the core objective of the framework — 'Flourishing'.

Positive Education framework used by Geelong Grammar School in Australia 
（Hoare et al., 2017）

With generous support from the Chan Kee Hwa Scholarship, a three-year extension of the 'Po Leung Kuk Positive Education Movement in Primary Schools (2021-24)' was subsequently launched to build on these remarkable outcomes. Leveraging the successes of the earlier phases, the initiative is being progressively expanded to all Po Leung Kuk primary schools, to fully embed Positive Education across all Po Leung Kuk primary schools. To enhance its effectiveness, three pioneering schools with extensive experience in Positive Education have been invited to serve as affiliated partners, providing support to peer schools through professional exchange and sharing of best practices to facilitate the implementation and integration of Positive Education. 

*Schools that participated in Po Leung Kuk Positive Education Movement in Primary Schools (2021-24)

The project aims to enhance the well-being of various stakeholders within the school community (including students, parents, and school personnel). Strategies include: 

References：

Hoare, E., Bott, D., & Robinson, J. (2017). Learn it, Live it, Teach it, Embed it: Implementing a whole school approach to foster positive mental health and wellbeing through Positive Education. International Journal of Wellbeing, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v7i3.645

Norrish, J. M., Williams, P., O’Connor, M., & Robinson, J. (2013). An applied framework for positive education. International Journal of Wellbeing, 3(2), 147–161 . https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v3i2.2

Seligman, M. E. P., Ernst, R. M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902934563

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.