Hong Kong NGO using ‘social-emotional learning’ to help students improve mental health gets funding boost
- Teach for Hong Kong project helps students better manage their emotions, interpersonal relationships through series of activities
- Group will also use HK$400,000 grant from NGO Leadership Programme, sponsored by UBS and Post’s Operation Santa Claus
A Hong Kong NGO’s project to help improve the mental health of 500 students – by equipping them with skills to better manage their emotions and interpersonal relationships – has received a funding boost from a local leadership programme.
Teach for Hong Kong will also provide 200 parents and 100 teachers from participating schools with training on “social-emotional learning”, so they can help students better use those skills in their daily lives.
Their training will be conducted by recruits of a fellowship scheme funded by the HK$400,000 (US$51,420) grant the group won from this year’s NGO Leadership Programme.
The annual project has been in place since 2015.
The NGO selects degree holders aged 30 or below for its fellowship programme, while participating schools are required to have a substantial portion of students who are non-Chinese or recipients of government subsidies.
“We partner with schools whose visions align with ours and choose fellows who exhibit compassion as well as leadership, entrepreneurial and interpersonal skills,” said Henry Lee Cheuk-hei, CEO of Teach for Hong Kong. “We welcome fellows to spread our word when they return to their careers in finance, law and the government.”
Matthew Kwok Tsz-lok, a former fellow for Teach for Hong Kong, said social-emotional learning was critical in helping young people develop healthy identities and achieve their goals by equipping them with skills for decision-making, managing emotions and maintaining relationships.
Such skills, which also encouraged compassion, were missing from today’s curriculum, he said, adding it was important to involve teachers and parents in the process.
Hong Kong entrepreneur to mentor city’s charity leaders
“Children learn from their role models,” said Kwok, also the co-founder and current executive director of Just Feel Hong Kong, a partner NGO providing training for the fellows.
Kwok said students learned to improve their social-emotional skills by writing diaries, doing breathing exercises or identifying their emotions through props including stickers and cards.
The fellows will undergo eight weeks of training and are encouraged to implement creative solutions in classrooms and through seminars, parent-school assemblies, workshops and other events. Apart from social-emotional skills, they will also conduct classes on education innovation, STEM and English learning.
About 40 fellows and close to 20 schools have participated in the project annually since it was launched.
