Approximately 6% of the population are estimated to have difficulties with learning about numbers and arithmetic, generally regarded as dyscalculia (or mathematics learning disability). As no standardized procedure for identification of dyscalculia for primary students is currently available in Hong Kong, this study aimed to develop a math achievement test in identifying at-risk Primary students for dyscalculia, as a first step to serve this purpose. A sample of over 1000 Grade 1 to 6 students were invited to complete a comprehensively designed math achievement test, and items were selected based on their functioning. The finalized scales had good reliability and validity. The test provides psychologists and teachers a tool to assess students’ math achievement and may potentially serve as a diagnostic tool of at-risk Primary students for dyscalculia in Hong Kong. All rights reserved.

This paper aims at extending the understanding of principal leadership in support of teachers' development of robot-based pedagogy for students in a cross-school professional learning community (PLC) of Hong Kong's special education. Sixty representative teachers from over 30 special schools, that is 50% of the total number of special schools, participated in the community over the past 2 years. The teachers not only developed the pedagogy but also observed and collaborated in the schools regarding their technological, pedagogical and content knowledge. The development of robot-based learning for individual students' different special educational needs is an innovative differentiated approach to fostering socially just learning in schools. The key research question is: How could teacher professional development of robot-based pedagogies for all students build a social-justice school? We adopted a qualitative cross-case study of four schools participating in the PLC. Although the professional development did not aim at principals' and teachers' social-justice practices for all students, the case study demonstrated the principals' leadership support and the teachers' enthusiasm for learning to change their pedagogies with the use of new robotic technology for socially just differentiated teaching. Implications of the cross-school PLC for building social-justice school communities are also discussed. Copyright © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Career and life planning is extremely important for all adolescents in order to enhance transition outcomes, but to date, little attention has been paid to its role in education for students with special educational needs (SENs). There is no specific model in Hong Kong for supporting career and life planning for SEN students, nor has there been any research on the topic. As a result, their needs are easily overlooked and they have had fewer opportunities to explore and develop their vocational interests. To address this problem, a charitable organization in Hong Kong initiated in 2016 a two-year program for junior secondary students with SEN. The program aimed to develop a service model for supporting career and life planning for these students in Grades 7–9. Evaluation of the program included obtaining views from different stakeholders, including parents of the SEN students. In this chapter, we discuss findings from the evaluation study using a qualitative approach with data from parent interviews. Copyright © 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

The psychological construct of self-efficacy plays a salient role in students’ pursuit of a career path. Career-related self-efficacy is strongly associated with life satisfaction and emotional well-being. Most of what is known about this construct has come from research with mainstream students in the West, and considerably less attention has focused on students with special educational needs. The limited knowledge we have of SEN students’ career-related self-efficacy may be due to lack of appropriate assessment instruments with sound psychometric properties that can be used across cultures. This chapter reports steps taken to validate such an instrument, the Career Development Self-Efficacy Inventory (CD-SEI), for assessing career life skills self-efficacy in SEN students. The authors describe the use of a short form of CD-SEI in Hong Kong with a sample of SEN students and a comparison group without special needs. Theoretical and practical implications of using this instrument to assess career life skills self-efficacy of SEN students are discussed in light of current career development theories. Copyright © 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Purpose: A growing body of research has focused on the topic of inclusive education for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. At the same time, few scholars have explored the role technology can play in enhancing inclusivity within the context of quality education. This study examines how the differentiated use of technology that takes into account disparities in prior knowledge can benefit students of different learning backgrounds.Design/Approach/Methods: This study adopted an experimental design to investigate how content-specific and content-neutral technologies can be strategically used to support the classroom discussions of Chinese and ethnic minority students' learning Chinese language and mathematics. One hundred and twenty-one secondary school students participated in the study. Each student was randomly assigned to a condition, in a 2 (ethnicity: Chinese vs. ethnic minority) × 2 (content: content-specific first vs. content-neutral first) design.Findings: The study found that (a) for Chinese language lessons, ethnic minority students preferred to learn with content-neutral and content-specific technologies in prediscussion and postdiscussion activities, respectively; whereas the Chinese students' preferences were the opposite and (b) for mathematics lessons, both groups of students performed better when content-specific and content-neutral technologies were used in prediscussion and postdiscussion activities, respectively.Originality/Value: The study presents five practical suggestions for the strategic use of technology in inclusive classrooms in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2020 The Author(s).

Background: Hong Kong students with physical disabilities were being seen as physically inactive compared with typically developed people or even people with other disabilities, such as visual impairment or intellectual disabilities. Lack of regular physical activity would lead to poor physical fitness, and yet is associated with a higher risk of being obese or other physical as well as mental health problems. Currently, a newly developed sport, sitting light volleyball, modified from the Paralympic sitting volleyball, is considered as suitable for disabled people with lower physical fitness, in which was able to increase fitness level and increase their physical activity.Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the effect of sitting light volleyball in improving physical fitness among students with physical disabilities in Hong Kong.Methods: The current study was an interventional, quasi-experimental study. Nineteen participants, 8 males and 11 females, with the age of 18.5 on average (SD = 3.24), participated in the study. Two local special education schools were involved in the 10-week (65 minutes per session) sitting light volleyball intervention program. Participants took part in a fitness test before and after the intervention. The intended-to-treat approach was adopted throughout the data analysis, with the last observation carried forward method for managing the missing data.Results: No significant changes in body composition outcomes of the participants were found. The non-parametric sign test showed significant median differences on dumbbell press test and flexibility test of the right shoulder before and after the intervention, with Z = 2.94, P = 0.003; Z = 2.20, P = 0.028, respectively.Conclusions: This indicated that the sitting light volleyball intervention was able to provide preliminary evidence on showing the enhancement of muscle endurance and flexibility of the students with physical disabilities. Whereas, intensified interventions should be

Objective This quasi-experimental study reported the results of a structured literacy intervention programme designed for secondary school students of Year 7 to Year 9 with dyslexia. Students of the intervention group (n = 116) participated in 40-week sessions of small-size, classroom-based, and split-group intervention setting with 45-min daily lesson on both Chinese and English language compared with students in the control group who received normal classroom instructions (n = 98). Results Students in the intervention group outperformed the control groups in self-regulated learning scales, which indicated that there was positive change in students' behavioural and cognitive outcomes in learning. Although students demonstrated gains in phonetic skills, posttest results in academic achievement did not exhibit significant improvement when compared with their control group peers. Conclusion The findings provided some encouraging evidence of the effectiveness of intervention programme. Students that demonstrated gains in phonetic skills and improvement in behavioural and cognitive aspects required continuous intervention lessons to become a self-regulated learner, who would be self-motivated to improve methods of learning and adopt strategies for attaining academic goals. The study contributed to the literature by presenting one of the very first school-based, small-size, classroom-based, and split-group intervention programme for secondary school dyslexic students, which included teachers and students training on English and Chinese intervention content (phonological and literacy content), teaching curriculum integrated with school curriculum, and coteaching with school teachers in the mainstream classrooms, whereas most of the existing intervention programmes used pull-out approach involving the first language only.
[Copyright of Dyslexia is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.]

This study analyses responses (n = 309, across 94 schools) to the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Zhang and Schwarzer [1995]. "Measuring Optimistic Self-Beliefs: A Chinese Adaptation of the General Self-Efficacy Scale." Psychologia: An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient 38 (3): 174-181) from Hong Kong primary teachers of inclusive music classes. Analysis of these results sheds light on the impact that contextual reforms have on these non-core subject music teachers' practice. Respondents' perceived self-efficacy is moderate - characterised as a see-saw relationship between their personal and external domains. A possible behavioural intervention suggests professional-sharing being further enriched were current Education Bureau's in-service SEN courses to be inclusive of all primary school subjects, including music. Specific factors that underpin these respondents 'moderate' self-efficacy are identified as forming two clusters, human resource management and stress, with possible behavioural interventions for these being outlined.
[Copyright of Music Education Research is the property of Routledge.]