Mindfulness Programs in Schools
The seed schools and affiliated schools of the Jockey Club “Peace and Awareness” Mindfulness Culture in Schools Initiative (JC PandA) will integrate mindfulness courses in their Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum. Currently in Hong Kong, the SEL usually adopts a thematic approach, with themes such as social skills, self-understanding, and discipline. The inclusion of mindfulness courses will complement these themes. The JC PandA runs the Paws b, .b and .b Foundations mindfulness courses. These courses are developed by the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP), a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom. Prior to the commencement of the project, the teaching materials of these courses have been translated into Chinese with caution about the local cultural context. Professor Shui-fong Lam and her JC PandA Team are training partners of MiSP.
Mindfulness Courses for Students
The JC PandA runs the Paws b and .b mindfulness courses for students. While the former is a twelve-session course designed for children (7 – 11 years old), the latter is a ten-session course designed for adolescents (11 – 18 years old).
These two mindfulness courses are selected because:
- they are secular mindfulness courses for children and adolescents which can be readily incorporated into the SEL curriculum of Hong Kong schools;
- the training pathway for becoming Paws b and .b teachers is clear and systematic. Before teachers can teach these courses to students, they have to complete an eight-week mindfulness course, engage in daily practice, and receive adequate teacher training.
Paws b and .b mindfulness courses are skillfully designed by classroom teachers to engage students. They are taught with striking visuals, film clips, and activities that bring mindfulness to life without losing the integrity of classic mindfulness teaching.
The mindfulness courses for students aim to offer students mindfulness as a lifeskill. Students can:
- feel happier, calmer and more fulfilled;
- get on better with others;
- concentrate and learn better;
- cope with stress and anxiety;
- enhance performance such as in music and sports.
In the mindfulness courses, students will learn the distinct mindfulness skills through various activities, discussion and in-session practices. The courses cover the following topics:
- how to pay attention;
- how to cope with stress and anxiety;
- how to integrate mindfulness into daily life;
- how to savour the goodness in life, etc.
Mindfulness Courses for Educators
To support teachers and school professional helpers in learning mindfulness and to prepare them to teach mindfulness to students, the JC PandA offers .b Foundations courses recurrently in each of the academic years from 2019 to 2025. The .b Foundations is an eight-week school-based adult mindfulness course for school staff. The .b Foundations courses will not only open to the teachers and staff in the seed schools and affiliated schools, but also to any teachers and school professional helpers in the neighbourhood of the seed schools.
The .b Foundations is an eight-week mindfulness course for teachers, helping professionals in schools, and parents who wish to learn the foundational concepts and practices of mindfulness. If you are interested in joining our courses in the future, please join Friends of JC PandA to receive updates and notifications about our activities and mindfulness training.
It aims to enable adults in school setting to:
- feel happier, calmer and more fulfilled;
- get on better with others, including students and colleagues;
- work more effectively by bringing increased awareness to the process;
- enhance resilience in the face of stress and difficulties.
This course is for adults to experience mindfulness and develop their own practice, rather than a training for teaching mindfulness to others. For those who have completed this course, they could go on to take further courses if they feel inspired to teach mindfulness to students.
Mindfulness Courses for Parents
To support parents in learning mindfulness and to apply mindfulness in their family lives, the JC PandA offers Mindful Parenting courses recurrently in each of the academic years from 2022 to 2025. The Mindful Parenting is an eight-week mindfulness course for parents of primary students. To facilitate parents from different districts to learn mindfulness, the courses are held in different schools.
The Mindful Parenting is developed by Prof. Susan Bögels at the University of Amsterdam. It is an eight-week mindfulness course for parents who wish to learn the concepts and practices of mindfulness in parenting.
It aims to enable parents to:
- feel calmer and more fulfilled;
- get on better with their children;
- cope with parental stress;
- cope with the difficulties in family life by bringing increased awareness to the process;
Last but not the least, the JC PandA aspires to go beyond the introduction and implementation of mindfulness courses to students and adults in schools. We hope to help schools develop mindfulness culture that benefits all the stakeholders within the school community.