This paper reports an investigation of the job satisfaction of teachers of severely mentally handicapped (smh) schools in Hong Kong. Responses to a modified version of the Job Description Index (JDI) are shown to be internally consistent and evidence is presented of the convergent and discriminant validity of the JDI scales. The teachers of the smh students were shown to be content with aspects of their job other than promotion opportunities, more so than representative samples of Hong Kong primary, secondary, and moderate grade mentally handicapped school teachers and psychiatric nurses. The JDI scales showed some power to predict intention to leave their current job.
[Copyright © 2000 De La Salle University, Philippines.]

In most countries around the world, teachers for special education are prepared through pre-service and/or in-service programmes. In Hong Kong, the focus has been on in-service education. Currently there are no pre-service teacher preparation programmes that qualify their graduates as special education teachers. When teachers with basic education background are employed by special schools/classes, they will enroll in the in-service special education programme. This paper will present an overview of the developmental history of such a programme in Hong Kong. Since its introduction in the 1960s, the programme has undergone many changes. A critical analysis of its evolution, the changes made and their impact on the local special education scene will be discussed in light of the varying circumstances. Furthermore the paper will highlight the existing teacher preparation programme for special education as a result of the establishment of the Hong Kong Institute of Education in 1994 and the policy statement made by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 1997. Implications for future educational needs will also be emphasized.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes of final year students in teacher preparation program and in-service physical education teachers toward including students with disabilities into regular settings between Hong Kong (HK) and mainland China (MC), and to further examine the influences of attitudes on development of adapted physical education program. Total 152 participants (53 4th year students and 43 in-service teachers) from HK, and 56 students from MC participated in this study. A survey was conducted regarding students' attitudes toward inclusion (type disability can be included, type of experience and skills they need for inclusion), and opinions and concerns about inclusion (open questions). The results of survey indicated that both students and in-service teachers in HK and MC philosophically support inclusion, however, there were many concerns and different opinions regarding inclusion when they answered open-end questions. For question #1 "Students with disabilities should be taught in RPE classes" 65% (HK) and 62% (MC) students disagreed. For question #3, "Students with severe disabilities should be taught in separate classes (APE classes)", 77% (HK) and 85% (MC) agreed. The survey indicated that students from HK and MC thought special school and teachers with special training will provide better education for students with disabilities than general teacher. Survey results also indicated from question #13, "to be prepared to teach students with mild to severe disabilities, it is important that I receive training on activities that includes ideas on lesson planning for a variety of abilities levels", that 95.5% students from both HK and MC agreed and strong agreed on "need more academic preparation" for inclusion. There were no significant difference between 4th year students and in-service teachers on these items. Other results indicated that, in addition to government policies, attitudes and lack of special education training for current teachers

近年，香港所推行的教育改革積極鼓勵學校實施融合教育。融合教育是指所有學生，無論他們是具有不同的資質或能力，都應在學校裡享有同等的學習機會；要達到共融的目的，教師必須引用校本課程發展的模式，以配合學生的不同學習需要。通過有關教師的訪問，本研究旨在探討參與融合教育的教師如何運用校本課程發展去幫助融合學生學習和曾遭遇過的困難與問題。研究的結果能幫助有志推行融合教育的教師進一步在學校裡施行融合教育的工作。

Early childhood education is the cornerstone of an education system. However, to the population of children at risk of developmental disabilities (CARDD), challenges early childhood teachers need to face are not only early identification of these children, but also development and implementations of productive interventions to reduce influences of existing deficits on their personal development and maximize these children's potential to learn. According to a statistic report by World Health Organization (2011), in a majority of countries in the world, around 14% 36 to 35% of children aged between 2 to 9 years old are at risk of developmental disorders. Seeking to provide a good understanding of teacher preparation for identifying and intervening CARDD, the present study investigated: a) the confidence level of over 3,000 teachers in a wide range of instructional activities (e.g., confidence in facilitating teaching and learning, facilitating social development, collaborating with parents and other related personnel) across 238 kindergartens, and b) the needs of early childhood teachers in supporting CARDD in Hong Kong. The role of integrated programme placing/not placing in these investigated kindergartens is also taken into account in understanding potential differences of teachers' confidence in identifying, teaching and intervening CARDD. Implications to professional development, improvements of existing facilities and resources to assist early childhood teachers in identifying and supporting children with developmental disabilities are discussed.