Media

The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE) will soon begin under the threat of coronavirus. Students not only need to prepare for the public examinations, but also need to take care of their mental health, in order to concentrate on their studies. Jockey Club “Peace and Awareness” Mindfulness Culture in Schools Initiative (JC PandA) has launched ‘Mindfulness in the Face of Academic Stress’ resources package to encourage DSE candidates and students to create a mindful space in times of the epidemic, so as to better adjust their emotions for their mental well-being. This package is a follow-up of an earlier resources package, ‘Mindfulness in the Time of Coronavirus Epidemic’, that supports the general public in this difficult time.

Professor Lam Shui Fong, Director of JC PandA and Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Hong Kong, expressed the view that it was common for students to feel tired and anxious facing public examinations. Coupled with worries about the epidemic, this year posts a greater challenge to students, parents and teachers. Professor Lam explained, “I recommend students to try practising mindfulness when they feel stressed or upset. Mindfulness is a way to soothe your mind and soul.”

‘Mindfulness in the Face of Academic Stress’ resources package includes a manual, a video explaining stress response, and two sets of 5-minute and 10-minute mindfulness audio guides. The audio guides cover petal practice, three-step breathing space, mindful stretching, mindful walking, mindful breathing, body scan, and befriending practice. These practices are suitable for students who have studied for a long time, suffer from insomnia before examinations, are awaiting the distribution of the examination papers, and worry about their academic performance and future before the release of examination result. This resources package is available to download for free.

In addition, the “Mindfulness in the Time of Coronavirus Epidemic’ resources package released earlier is also available to download for free. This package offers both English and Chinese versions. The audio guides offer options of English, Cantonese and Putonghua practices, which are suitable for people of all ages, including the elderly, busy workers, teenagers and children. JC PandA recommends users to practise according to the sequence of the audio guides. Beginners may start with the shortest practice. Both resources packages are launched with the support from the Hong Kong Association of Careers Masters and Guidance Masters.

The resources packages are available to download for free:
‘Mindfulness in the Face of Academic Stress’ resources package
www.jcpanda.hk/sr2020 (Chinese manual and Cantonese audio guides)

‘Mindfulness in the Time of Coronavirus Epidemic’ resources package
www.jcpanda.hk/ms2020/en (English manual, and English and Putonghua audio guides)
www.jcpanda.hk/ms2020 (Chinese manual and Cantonese audio guides)

About Jockey Club “Peace and Awareness” Mindfulness Culture in Schools Initiative
Jockey Club “Peace and Awareness” Mindfulness Culture in Schools Initiative (JC PandA) aims to promote mindfulness culture in schools in Hong Kong and focuses on the mental health of students, teachers and general public in Hong Kong. This three and a half years’ project spans between 2019 and 2022 is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and is organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong. JC PandA is one of the pioneer large-scale projects in Chinese societies that explore the benefits of mindfulness for students and teachers in school settings. The research findings and experiences of the project will shed light on how mindfulness could be applied in the education sector, and enable educators in Chinese societies to apply mindfulness in building a healthy and flourishing school culture.
Website: www.jcpanda.hk

For media enquiries, please contact
Ms Lia Tsang, Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU (Tel: 39171261; email: liatsang@hku.hk)
Ms Henrietta Lai, Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU (Tel: 39175176; email: jcpanda@hku.hk)