Improving Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools: Exploring School Leaders’ Roles and Influence

The growing prevalence of mental health issues among adolescents in Hong Kong SAR has urged secondary schools to enhance their well-being support systems. This study focuses on the One-off Grant for Mental Health at School, a newly launched initiative by the Education Bureau. Based on a qualitative analysis of 121 school documents and focus group interviews with school leadership teams from five government-aided secondary schools, the study found that the schools generally used the grant as additional support to enhance their existing well-being initiatives. These included organizing well-being support activities, purchasing or designing educational resources and materials, enhancing school facilities, and establishing or enhancing school-based well-being support systems. The study also found that school leaders played a critical role in the implementation of the grant, with principals perceiving themselves as primary policy setters and vice-principals and teacher leaders as bridges connecting senior leadership with other stakeholders. In addition to their individual roles, the findings revealed that leaders relied on collaborative decision-making practices to facilitate more effective implementation of the grant. It is recommended that current well-being support measures be further enhanced by establishing sustained support programs and encouraging greater stakeholder participation in relevant policymaking processes.