Have You Installed Your Soulware?

Your school might have all the hardware and plenty of software but does it have the soulware?

According to Professor Way Kuo, President of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) the word soulware means a type of culture, mentality, behaviour and thinking pattern.

My understanding is that this relates to the wellbeing of an organisation. It relates to the way you do things and how the environment is shaped by the actions of its members. It relates to embracing diversity and the pursuit of excellence.

Having state of the art facilities is all fine and dandy but you’ve got to support that with healthy thinking and healthy people and get rid of the smog.

In a school with soulware firmly installed then it doesn’t deal in empty talk and toxicity but looks at how the school community can be made better through critical thinking and positive action.

But soulware isn’t something you just download and within a few minutes you’re done and dusted, this is a quality cultivated over a period of time.

I’m bending what Kuo is saying somewhat because I hope still retaining the essence of his message. You can focus on knowledge all you want but the mindset of a place of key and it’s that what really matters in a school – does the school promote healthy thinking and is happiness on the agenda?

Soulware education puts wellbeing at the heart of all its policies, processes and curricula.