Although a substantial body of studies has been focusing on exploring approaches to enhance the learning of children with special educational needs (SEN) in kindergartens, considerably fewer studies have been conducted to test early childhood educators’ confidence levels in early identifying and facilitating the learning and social development of children with SEN. This study took the initiative to conduct a large scale survey in the Chinese context, seeking to develop a good understanding of teacher preparation for identifying and supporting children with SEN. Over 5000 early childhood educators from 519 kindergartens and kindergarten-cumchild care centres (KGs) in Hong Kong participated in this survey study. Specifically, we examined these teachers’ confidence levels in terms of early identification and intervention through a wide range of instructional activities. We also investigated external needs these teachers perceived to be critically important for supporting SEN children. The role of integrated programme (IP) in these surveyed KGs on teachers’ confidence levels in supporting children with SEN was also examined. Implications of findings of the current study to early childhood education, improvements of existing facilities and resources to support teachers’ professional development are discussed.

Although children’s adaptive social and emotional development and academic performance/achievement are important indicators of school effectiveness, considerably less studies have been taken with a special focus on these social, emotional and academic gains among children with disabilities, particularly those integrated in regular classroom. From both perspectives of children with disabilities and parents of these children, this study tested and compared the patterns of the predictive effects of perceived social and emotional competences on academic performance between their perceptions. In total 307 children with disabilities and parents of these children (parents N = 180; children N =127) participated in this study. These children are integrated in mainstreaming primary schools (p1 to p3) in Hong Kong. An interesting finding was emotional competence was the stronger predictor of children’s academic performance compare to social competence. The predictive patterns were consistent based on the results from parents’ and children’s self-reported data (i.e., path coefficients from social and emotional competences to academic performance: β =.37 and β =.28 based on children’s data; β =.37 and β =.25 based on parents’ data, all path coefficients are significant at the .01 level). Similarly, in the results from both parents and children, we found that around 30% variance of academic performance could be explained by social and emotional competences as two predictors. These findings indicated not only a pivotal role of social and emotional competences, but also a more salient role of emotional competence in academic performance of children with disabilities. Both theoretical implications to emotion research in early childhood education and empirical implications to call for school support and practices to foster emotional competence of children with disabilities are discussed.

Realizing the changing needs of Hong Kong special schools, the Department of Special Education of the Hong Kong Institute of Education included the elements of assistive technology and multimedia teaching in the module "Technology in Special Education" for in-service teachers in special education courses. Funded by a UGC Teaching Development Grant, the module teaching team started research and launched this project on using multimedia technology in special education. In the project, the Special Education Multimedia Teaching Resource Unit (SEMTRUP) was successfully set up in the Department in September, 1998. This paper will introduce the details of the project and illustrate how the teaching and learning quality is improved during the process.

In this article, the Erasmus Mundus programme in Special Education Needs, with the financial support from the European Commission, run in Europe from 2005-2010, is reported. The discussion will focus especially on the learning in the field of collaborative skills and attitudes that have occurred in the programme. With reference to the feedback of the participants, the features such as practices of internationalization, multicultural understanding, collaboration in learning and reflection in professional practice are significantly noted. In comparison, these insights may exert far-reaching impact to course planning of professional development in special needs at different levels in Hong Kong.
[Copyright © 2011 The Special Education Society of Hong Kong Ltd.]

The importance of school-institute partnerships for professional development is widely acknowledged by many studies. Through partnership, tertiary institutions can gain access to schools’ teaching practices, while schools can gain new ideas and knowledge. Such collaboration not only ensures teacher development but also makes action research feasible, which in turn promotes teaching and learning effectiveness in schools. The resultant school improvement is notable in the achievement of high quality education in Hong Kong. This chapter describes the successful experience of building a professional partnership in staff development between The Hong Kong Institute of Education and the Shanghai School for the Blind. Although there are dissimilarities in terms of vision, mission and target students between the two partners, the collaborative arrangement was found to be workable as a result of the explicit aims and shared goals. The experience gained in the partnership was meaningful and productive. Sharing responsibilities between partners not only minimized misunderstandings but also maximized the sense of involvement and contribution of the partners. The conclusion highlights the essential elements of a successful partnership, that is, mutuality, trust and reciprocal benefit (Anderson & Cheung, 1999; Fullan, Erskine-Cullen, & Watson, 1995; Goodlad, 1985; Osguthorpe, Harris, Black, Cutler, & Harris, 1995).
[Copyright © 2004 The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research.]

This paper reports on research through four case studies of Integrated Education in Hong Kong schools that aimed to provide a better understanding about the integration process, what the barriers are, how they might be overcome and how Integrated Education might further facilitate quality education. The study used five research questions that framed the results. Case Study methodology involving interviews, open-ended questionnaires, examining school documents, observations and their analyses was used. Findings led to a cross analysis which showed emergent commonalities and unique features. Results include findings that co-teaching led to effective teaching; parent involvement is a key factor, and social interaction and Whole School Approach schemes are very supportive of Integrated Education. Common teacher education needs were identified. Implications for education and research are made.