Over the past three years, the education sector has continuously adapted its teaching models in response to the evolving pandemic. As primary and secondary schools gradually return to full-day face-to-face classes, how can schools and teachers maintain and further enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning? How can educational professionals adjust school policies to help students and teachers adapt to the new learning norm, regain the rhythm of teaching and learning, while also addressing the mental and physical health needs of all involved?
Professor CHEN, Junjun, Associate Dean, (Research and Postgraduate Studies) of the Faculty of Education and Human Development; Professor, Department of Education Policy and Leadership, The Education University of Hong Kong, emphasizes the importance of enhancing school resilience and the well-being of students and teachers. She cites various international studies indicating that the pandemic has profoundly and long-lastingly affected the mental and physical health of students, teachers, and principals globally. In Hong Kong, a survey by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups shows that over 33% of students look forward to returning to campus in the new semester; meanwhile, 51.9% of students have reported emotional health issues, and another survey indicates that 39% of responding principals exhibited symptoms of depression or exhaustion during the pandemic. Overall, the mental and physical health issues faced by students and teachers during the pandemic warrant attention.
（Professor CHEN, Junjun, Associate Dean, (Research and Postgraduate Studies) of the Faculty of Education and Human Development; Professor, Department of Education Policy and Leadership, The Education University of Hong Kong）
Building School Resilience to Meet Future Challenges
Dr. Chen believes that resilience is an intrinsic capability that enhances the mental and physical health, abilities, and performance of individuals and school teams, greatly benefiting students and teachers. Numerous international studies confirm that resilience can boost students' confidence, foster positive peer relationships, support their growth in adversity, and increase engagement in learning, which can help improve academic performance. For teachers and principals, resilience allows them to love teaching more, stimulates innovative teaching ideas, helps maintain work-life balance and social relationships, enhances their ability to handle daily challenges and face difficulties, and deepens their sense of belonging to their organization, thereby improving performance and promoting organizational effectiveness.
According to the resilience cycle theory, the process of resilience consists of four stages: "deterioration, adaptation, rebound, and growth." Dr. Chen suggests that after experiencing the impact of the pandemic, most students and teachers may still be in the adaptation and rebound stages, some may still be trapped in the deterioration stage, while others may show early signs of growth. Those with higher resilience can protect themselves in the face of difficulties and challenges, rebounding quickly to their original levels. Some highly resilient individuals may even seize this opportunity to confront challenges, achieve personal growth, and reach the highest stage of the resilience cycle theory. Therefore, Dr. Chen emphasizes that resilience is a valuable capability to cultivate, especially important in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) era and the post-pandemic period.
Four Practical Suggestions to Help the Education Sector Build Resilience
Dr. Chen offers four suggestions to help the education sector build resilience and establish a firm footing in the post-pandemic era. Firstly, educational professionals should start with self-care and self-leadership. A systematic approach can be taken by training resilient principals to serve as role models, influencing and cultivating resilient teachers and students, thereby establishing resilient schools
Secondly, resilience should be internalized and permeated into daily life and work, consistently cultivated from small daily habits.
Thirdly, resilience can be leveraged to create synergistic effects between work and learning resources. For example, while the work demands on principals and teachers are generally hard to change, they can try to improve the variable work resources to buffer these demands. Since support from family and peers is a significant factor influencing resilience, schools can increase opportunities for staff to engage in family activities or social interactions to foster relationships among staff and their families, which is likely to positively impact relationships within the school leadership and staff. Dr. Chen and Professor Lee Chi-Kin, in their article on the resilience of teachers in Hong Kong's primary and secondary schools, point out that resilience enables teachers to adjust their existing workloads and demands, thereby improving their mental and physical health as well as their job performance.
Finally, Dr. Chen advocates for "leading with care," connecting the effects of school resilience to enhance the mental and physical health and performance of students and teachers. This initiative also responds to the OECD's recent "2030 Agenda," which advocates building healthy societies as a common goal to address unprecedented uncertainties and create a more resilient society. This concept requires establishing resilience through interconnected effects: first, promoting personal resilience and well-being among principals, teachers, and students, then building resilience within schools through interconnected relationships, and extending this to the entire community. She suggests that principals can seek inspiration from the shocks brought by the pandemic, turning adversity into opportunity, leading teachers and students to strengthen their focus on resilience and well-being, and actively promoting the interconnected effects of school resilience.
Rescheduling Timetables to Balance Academic and Other Learning Experiences
Schools across Hong Kong are meticulously preparing for the resumption of full-day face-to-face classes, developing measures to help students gradually adapt to the rhythm of full-day classes. Ms Wong Wing Sze, Vice Principal (Learning and Teaching), Yan Chai Hospital Choi Hin To Primary School, states, "Planning for the resumption of full-day classes has allowed the school to rediscover its 'original intention,' re-evaluating the pre-pandemic timetable, boldly seeking change, and designing a timetable that offers students diverse learning experiences."
Ms. Wong believes that the pandemic prompted schools to reflect on the meaning of "full-day" education. While academic performance is certainly important, the diverse experiences of students are equally significant. Given the three years of "half-day" schooling, it has become evident that regular courses can actually be completed within half a day. Therefore, the school has decided to allocate afternoon class time to enrich students' learning experiences. Ms. Wong emphasizes that as a member of society, the school bears the responsibility of nurturing the holistic development of students and taking care of students from various family backgrounds, ensuring that all students receive an equitable education. By effectively utilizing afternoon class hours, the school provides diverse classes that enhance students' learning motivation, thus improving learning effectiveness.
(Photo of Wong Wing Sze, Vice Principal (Learning and Teaching), Yan Chai Hospital Choi Hin To Primary School, with students)
Ms. Wong also points out that the school's class scheduling has undergone significant changes after returning to normalcy. The school has restructured its five-day weekly timetable, concentrating regular academic classes in the morning to free up the afternoon for activity classes. These activity classes cover a wide range of topics, aimed at enriching students' learning experiences beyond academics, achieving holistic development. For instance, on Mondays, the school arranges language classes, inviting foreign teachers to collaborate on engaging lessons such as drama to enhance students' English proficiency; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the school has designated "Talent Days" for "Art Day" and "Science Day," where students can participate in activities such as recitation, tea art, and painting, as well as learn STEM and programming knowledge, collectively nurturing students' "STEAM" skills; Wednesdays and Fridays are reserved for class teacher lessons and weekly assemblies, focusing on life education. Notably, training sessions for school teams that previously took place after school are now scheduled within the afternoon class times, allowing students and teachers to complete training during school hours, thus providing students with more time after school to pursue personal interests, complete assignments, and review their studies.
(A foreign teacher instructing students in English on how to make sandwiches during Monday's language class)
(Chinese cultural martial arts class during "Art Day")
Through her research, Dr. Chen posits that schools need to build resilience to face sudden challenges and also attend to the mental and physical health of principals, teachers, and students to establish a healthy society. In contrast, Ms. Wong shares her school's experience in scheduling the resumption of classes to provide holistic education. The 【EdCity × CEATETA】Return to Normality: A Whole-school Approach online seminar invited Dr. Chen and Ms. Wong to share insights with educational professionals. In addition to this seminar, the series will host more online seminars and physical workshops, where experienced scholars and teachers will share how to plan school policies and organize full-day timetables, address learning gaps in classrooms, reignite students' motivation to learn, and enhance the mental and physical health of teachers and students. Interested professionals are welcome to register and participate in the professional development exchange.