In the field of specific learning difficulties research, interest has recently turned to affective and motivational issues as possible causal or exacerbating factors. In particular, studies have suggested that students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) have diminished perceptions of their own capabilities as a result of persistent and frequent failure. Weakened beliefs in self-efficacy predispose the students to further poor outcomes through reduced confidence and effort. This study explores the perceptions of self-efficacy in both academic and non-academic domains revealed by Chinese primary-age students with learning difficulties. Data were collected by questionnaire (the Academic and Non-academic Self-efficacy Scale: ANASS) from 34 students identified with SpLD (individually interviewed; oral administration), and 167 students without learning problems (group administration; written form). Results indicate that the SpLD students had significantly weaker beliefs in their own efficacy in the academic learning domain, compared to the students making normal progress. The differences were most marked in their learning of both English and Chinese language skills. There was no difference between the two groups in self-efficacy related to the non-academic domain. An important finding in the study is that Chinese children with SpLD appear to have more positive beliefs in their self-efficacy than is implied for their counterparts in studies in other cultures. These findings are discussed in this paper, together with brief suggestions for practical implications and possible further research.
[Copyright of International Journal of Special Education is the property of Hindawi Publishing Corporation.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://www.internationaljournalofspecialeducation.com/]

Addressing the needs of students with learning difficulties in the mainstream English classroom in Hong Kong is a major challenge for a range of reasons, including a lack of research into the topic. This narrative suggests that such students are likely to be experiencing difficulty in a number of subject areas, and that a collaborative approach is an effective way of designing strategies to help them. This narrative further reports on an action research project, which has begun the task of developing strategies to meet the needs of this group of students and their teachers.
[Copyright of English Teaching: Practice & Critique is the property of Universidad del Zulia.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://edlinked.soe.waikato.ac.nz/research/journal/index.php?id=1]

This study assessed the profiles of eight intelligences of 133 gifted students from five perspectives based on their self-ratings and ratings by their mothers, fathers, teachers, and peers. Across different perspectives, logical-mathematical intelligence received the highest ratings whereas bodily-kinesthetic and naturalist intelligences received the lowest ratings. Based on the three profile similarity indices, elevation, scatter, and shape computed to describe each of the typical profiles of students, mothers, fathers, teachers, and peers, it was suggested that the mother perspective and the father perspective were more similar than those of teachers and peers. In addition, the indices also suggested the interpretation that mothers tended to be more sensitive to students' multiple intelligences than fathers, teachers, and peers. Students' perceived creativity and leadership were more predictable using the multiple intelligences from the student perspective. The implications of respecting multiple perspectives on students' multiple intelligences for helping to meet the needs of gifted students are discussed.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02783190409554284]

Since the early 1990s, the pace of educational reform in Hong Kong has accelerated and broadened to incorporate almost all areas of schooling. The reforms introduced during this period can be subsumed under what has generally been labelled the quality movement. In this paper, we review and comment on a number of policy reform initiatives in the four areas of "Quality Education," English Language Benchmarking, Initial Teacher Training and the Integration of Pupils with Special Needs into Ordinary Classrooms. Following a brief description of each policy initiative, the reforms are discussed in terms of their consistency, coherence and cultural fit.
[Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives is the property of College of Education, Arizona State University.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/]

Following initiations in educational reform that began in the 1990s, Hong Kong continues to experience considerable pressure for educational reform. On the surface many of these initiatives parallel reform policies/movements in Asia and indeed, globally. The success of any reform is dependent on how it is contextualised prior to and at implementation. In this article, an exploration is made into how reforms in four particular sareas, namely: professional development of principals, higher education, English language standards, and inclusion of students with learning difficulties have been conceived, contextualised and managed in Hong Kong, as it moves gradually toward increased adoption of education reforms. These areas are linked in that each describes and critiques contextualization with reference to areas such as accountability, co-operation and professional control.
[Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives is the property of College of Education, Arizona State University.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/]

This article examines the problems associated with introducing integrated education into Hong Kong's mainstream schooling system. The research objectives were to examine the experience of teachers in teaching children with special needs in mainstream schools; to examine the attitude of mainstream teachers towards integrated education, and explore whether the differences in perception of difficulties and attitudes are attributable to types of disability and availability of resources. This was achieved through a research strategy utilising a questionnaire survey combined with individual and group interviews. The results demonstrate that there is a clear hierarchy of preference amongst teachers in relation to special needs children. Students with a learning disability and/or behavioural problems pose more challenges to teachers than those with a physical difficulty. Teachers that had both types of special needs children in a class experience more problems in maintaining classroom discipline, have a greater workload and struggle to manage the disparate academic standards amongst students. Teachers in schools with extra funding provisions, teachers trained to teach special needs children, additional counselling resources and specialist support expressed more accepting attitudes towards children with special needs and their admission into mainstream schools. Resource classes did not exert a positive effect on acceptance. More than 70% of questionnaire respondents were supportive of two positive value statements 'realisation of equal opportunities' and 'a good chance for students to interact'. At the same time teachers tended to agree with the statements 'integration was a burden to the schools and teachers' (over 60%) and 'a painful struggle for special students' (48%). Although there is a general normative acceptance of inclusion, the statistical pattern suggests that teachers' attitudes are not static or based solely on ideology.
[Copyright of Disability & Society is