Empowering educators at Confucian Private Secondary School

To foster emotional resilience and leadership capacity among educators, UTAR, through its Centre for Corporate and Community Development and the Centre for Healthy Minds and Wellbeing (CHMW), conducted a two-day training workshop titled Cultivating Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence: Empowering Educators for Optimal Well-Being and Leadership at Confucian Private Secondary School, Kuala Lumpur.

Held from 2 to 3 April 2025, the workshop brought together around 50 heads of administrative and subject departments from Confucian Private Secondary School for an immersive experience in mindfulness practices, Dominance, Influence, Conscientiousness, and Steadiness (DISC) personality profiling, and team-based leadership strategies.

Aligned with UTAR’s mission, the Department of Student Affairs (DSA) Centre for Healthy Minds and Wellbeing partnered with Ms Song Xiu Hui, a licensed and exempted member of the HRD Corp (Human Resources Development Corporation) to promote well-being beyond the campus, establish outreach programmes to share knowledge, and nurture emotional intelligence to enhance leadership among department heads.

CHMW Manager Mr Ng Foo Yek, brought his expertise as a licensed LPI (Leonard Personality Incorporated) practitioner and certified mindfulness teacher from The Present Courses CIC. Serving as the workshop’s speaker and facilitator, his dedication to fostering mindfulness, mental wellness and well-being was evident throughout his sessions and activities.

On the other hand, Ms Song, a licensed and exempted member of the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp), shared her specialisation in personal development, leadership, and human resource management. With nine years of experience as a trainer and practitioner of the experiential learning approach, she has supported numerous human resource (HR) teams and SME (small and medium enterprise) owners in building effective teams.

In the workshop’s first module, Mr Ng guided participants to recognise situations when they operate on autopilot and how to break free from it by applying the S.T.O.P practice (Stop, Take a breath, Observe, and Proceed). This approach helps educators prevent cognitive overload. Drawing on neuroscience-backed research, Mr Ng explained that these exercises cultivate the four pillars of well-being, namely Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose.

In the second activity, Ms Song introduced strategies for managing emotional intelligence within team settings, fostering an efficient environment with minimal blame and constructive responses. Participants were then grouped according to their DISC categories to explore their leadership styles using the experiential learning approach, further promoting interpersonal understanding and effective team dynamics.

The collaboration between the university, Ms Song and Confucian Private Secondary School has helped strengthen educators’ mental resilience in facing future challenges. Through partnerships with both local and global communities, UTAR remains committed to sharing knowledge sharing and advocating for mental health awareness and training.