近年,接受本港融合教育的中小學自閉症譜系障礙學生的數目不斷急速增加。因此,老師們的專業培訓需要提供支援自閉症譜系障礙學生的教學及調適策略。本文建議按學業成績水平(優秀、中等及落後)及性格特質(衝動型、合作型及敏感型)將高功能自閉症譜系障礙融合學生的表現歸納為九種行為類型,相信透過這個行為類型的新概念可以讓老師們更具體地認識自閉症行為的獨特性及能提升教學效能。本文也倡議用「優勢模式」發掘自閉症譜系障礙融合學生的潛質和天份,期望老師們可以推動每位自閉症融合學生在人生的舞台上綻發光芒。Over the years, high and rapid growing numbers of primary and secondary students with autism spectrum disorder are studying in inclusive classrooms. To respond to this trend, teacher professional development programs need to include the curriculum content of effective learning-teaching and accommodations to support learner diversity. The present paper attempts to discuss the autism subtypes, using academic performance (above average, average, below average) and personality attribute (impulsive, cooperative, sensitive) as the two main parameters. It is expected that this new concept of autism subtypes can support teachers to have good understanding of autism behavior as well as to enhance efficacy for inclusive practice. The application of strength-based approach is also advocated here to encourage teachers to support students on the spectrum to explore their talents. The implication of this approach is that all individual on the spectrum can live in a very fruitful life.
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The work reported here grew out of an on-going investigation of the essential competencies required by teachers working in special schools in Hong Kong (Westwood & Wong, 2003). The earlier study explored the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that teachers in special schools are required to apply in their daily work with students with disabilities. This brief report addresses a slightly different question — namely, the areas of knowledge and skill in which teachers feel they require additional training and development. A total of 76 teachers in special schools responded to an open-ended request for information on this matter. Results indicate that teachers mainly require additional practical advice on teaching strategies, managing the behaviour of students with disabilities, and adapting curriculum to meet the students' needs. The teachers aslo perceived a need for additional information and skills in collaborative teamwork, and in acquiring an understanding of various therapeutic approaches deemed useful in special schools. The paper links the results of the survey with recent and proposed changes within the education system in Hong Kong.
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This small-scale exploratory study investigated Hong Kong primary teachers’ perceptions of bullying in school, and the difficulties they meet when implementing interventions to prevent or reduce bullying. Five primary school teachers from government-aided schools, private schools,and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools in Hong Kong were interviewed. The findings suggest that they are aware of various approaches to controlling bullying, and some use a mixed approach. A few of them use proactive approaches on the basis that ‘prevention is always better than an attempted cure’. Others tend to use reactive approaches that only respond to incidents of bullying when they occur. Most teachers mentioned that whole-school interventions had been implemented in their place of work,yet these interventions were different among different schools. The difficulties teachers had in tackling bullying effectively included time constraints, lack of expertise in behavioural management, the need of providing family education, difficulty in arranging a schedule for whole-school intervention, and problems in developing a specific intervention for individual cases. The findings reinforce a view that different parties need to put more effort in helping teachers develop effective bullying interventions. 這小型探索性研究目的是探討香港小學教師對校園欺凌的看法與其介入事件時所面對的困難。研究訪問了五位來自政府津貼學校、私立學校和直接資助學校的小學教師。結果指出,他們意識到處理欺凌事件的不同方法,部分教師會同時採取多種方法去處理。就大方向而言,有部分教師相信「預防勝於治療」,他們會採取積極的行動去管制校園欺凌;其他教師會「以不變應萬變」,以較為保守的態度應對。多數教師表示其任教的小學有實行全校性的干預措施,但由於學校的校情不盡相同,所以實行方法也有差別。此外,時間限制、缺乏行為管理專業知識、家長配合、學校支援,及欺凌事件的獨特性,都是教師在有效處理校園欺凌問題所面對的重重難關。總括而言,研究結果肯定了教師在介入欺凌事件方面,需要其他持分者更多的協助。
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Since the implementation of the "Whole School Approach to Integrated Education" in 1997, mainstream schools in Hong Kong have been encouraged to admit students who are identified with a wide range of learning needs. More recently, the concept of “inclusion” in the city has been widened to incorporate a significant number of newly arrived children from the mainland China, as well as non-Chinese speaking students. Given such a diversity of school population, however, research tends to suggest that practitioners in Hong Kong do not take a positive attitude towards inclusion. When responding to the challenges posed by inclusive education, it is important for practitioners and policy makers not to overlook legitimate local differences, especially in the role ascribed to education in the culture, and the processes of exclusion in different national settings. In this connection, this paper aims to provide a direction for the development of a cultural model of inclusion. By exploring the cultural meaning of “inclusion”, and observing how teachers respond to the diverse needs of learners in practice, the Model is expected to set a cultural-specific framework for inclusive teacher education. 自1997年,政府推行全校參與模式的融合教育,並不斷鼓勵香港主流學校接納不同類別而有特殊教育需要的學生入讀。近年來,融合的概念已涵蓋至照顧內地新來港兒童和非華語學童的需要。然而,即使學校的學生有不同的學習需要,很多研究卻均顯示參與者對融合教育的態度並不積極正面。面對融合教育的挑戰,參與者及政策制訂者不應忽視本土內各項差異,尤其是於文化層面內教育的角色及社會層面中是否存在排斥的情況。本文旨在為融合教育的文化模式提供一個發展方向。透過研究融合教育的文化含義和觀察教師處理學生差異的實際教學方式,期望為教師培訓製訂一系列有文化特色的融合教育教學法。
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In Hong Kong, as in all other countries around the world, children with autism remain perhaps the most challenging individuals to teach and manage in schools and at home. The search continues for effective methods to use when teaching these children and when seeking to improve their communication, self-management and social skills. This paper provides a brief overview of autism spectrum disorders and the difficulties encountered by children with such disorders. The writers review some the approaches available for use with autistic children and report views from a sample of local special education teachers (n=54) concerning the extent to which some of these approaches are used in the special schools of Hong Kong. The teachers' views on positive and negative features of each approach were also investigated.
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In 2000, the Education Commission launched a 10-year campaign that strived reform education by reconfiguring the academic system, including redesigning curriculum aims and assessment mechanism. Intense and frequent changes that resulted transformed the ecology of the education system. Local surveys indicated that most teachers suffered a high level of stress and many of them were nearly burnout. A combined inquiry was used to probe the external and internal influences that education reforms had upon teachers in schools for children with physical disabilities in Hong Kong. On the external influences, historical study and document analysis were employed. As to the internal influences, three methods were utilized. First, a four-section modified questionnaire was distributed to investigate these teachers' (n=92) stressors and gather data regarding their professional development. Second, 11 individual interviews were conducted in order to collect in-depth concerns from the representatives of novices, experienced and administrative teachers. Third, a focus group discussion with six experienced teachers was held to collect further data. Results of data analysis were discussed in order to provide recommendations to various stakeholders in supporting teachers along different stages of their career paths. 在2000年，教育統籌委員會啟動長達十年的教育改革，不但重新規劃香港學制，也重整課程目標及評估機制。自此，轉變密集而頻繁，改造了整個教育系統的生態，而本地多項調查顯示大部分教師承受着高度的工作壓力，有許多更近乎耗盡。本文採用綜合方法，深入調查教育改革對肢體傷殘學校教師所帶來的外在及內部影響。就其外在影響，作者運用歷史研究法及文件分析法調查；至於內部影響，則透過問卷調查、個別面談、焦點小組三種方法搜集資料。經過分析資料及討論觀點後，作者向教育官員、學校領導、特校教師提出建議，望後者在不同階段的教學生涯中獲得支援。
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Mathematical disagreements occur when students challenge each other’s ideas related to a mathematical concept. In this research, we examined Hong Kong and U.S. elementary teachers’ perceptions of mathematical disagreements and their resolutions using a video-stimulated survey. Participants were directed to give particular attention to the mathematics embedded within the disagreement and approaches for resolving the disagreement. Results revealed incomplete knowledge structures for the SELECTed mathematical topic for both Hong Kong and U.S. participants. Differences existed between the two groups regarding the resolution of the disagreement, as Hong Kong participants focused on the content within the resolution process while U.S. participants focused on the form of the resolution process. Both groups found value in mathematical disagreements but for different reasons. Hong Kong participants indicated that the mathematical disagreements supported them in identifying students’ misunderstandings. In contrast, U.S. participants reported that mathematical disagreements helped to identify areas in which students lacked prerequisite knowledge. Implications for future work are provided. Copyright © 2016 International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology.

This study aims to understand teacher emotions through interviewing 28 primary teachers in Hong Kong. The study employed content analysis to analyze the data. The results were allocated to three dimensions of teacher emotions—student and learning, teacher and teaching, and the contextual factors. These teachers described 78 emotions of which approximately an equal number were positive and negative. Emotions relating to the student and learning dimension are the most intense, followed by those in the teacher and teaching and contextual factor dimensions. Data also indicated that teachers can hold positive and negative emotions simultaneously (e.g., happy yet pressurized by child's unconditional trust) and can suffer from paradoxical emotions (e.g., regarding education reform). Teachers demonstrated different ways to manage emotions contingent on their demographic background. Given the powerful role that emotions play, recommendations for including teacher emotion education in both initial teacher education and professional development have been proposed accordingly. Copyright © 2018 Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

The influx of new immigrant children accentuated the need of immediate attention to the immigrant education. It was necessary for educators to think about modifying our curriculum to make adaptation for newly arrived children and preparing our teachers to meet this challenge. This research was intended to find out about teachers' perception of new immigrant children and their perception of programs offered to these children. None of the teachers have any pre-service and in-service training in teaching newly arrived children. A total of 145 questionnaires from primary schools in five regions were sent and 99 questionnaires were returned. A quantitative approach was used in the data analysis. Most of the respondents agreed that newly arrived children had adaptation problems and tended to regard 'low English proficiency" as the greatest obstacle to newly arrived children. Consequently, about 99% of the respondents thought that newly arrived children needed the service of "English language course". The general impression was that the present adaptation services for newly arrived children were unsatisfactory.
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What will go to teachers? Cheers or blame? Glory or Shame? Besides the availability of hardware, the crucial factor that might contribute to the success (or disaster!) of implementing information Technology (IT) policy in Hong Kong's schools rests on frontline workers — teachers. It is supposed that the Government will have plans to train enough competent teachers for the mission. This paper tries to point out that training from external parties is not an ultimate solution to the problem. What keeps the IT training in momentum is from within, that is, from schools' own continuous staff development program. From this perspective, an agenda for staff development program is proposed. A conscious reader may find that there is a hidden agenda in this paper, an agenda to foster partnership, collaborative effort and ambitiously, a learning culture in the school. IT learning is just like any other kind of learning which could be much easier when a learning culture is developed.
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