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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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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This article, while supporting the notion of inclusive education, urges caution in the rate at which the necessary changes take place. The writer acknowledges the important role played by special schools in meeting the needs of students with moderate to severe disabilities, and suggests that special schools must continue to exist in order to provide the full range of placement options. Some of the difficulties involved in implementing inclusive education are discussed, including the demands made upon the regular class teacher, the problem of class sizes in ordinary schools in Hong Kong, and the need for additional professional training with a focus on mixed-ability teaching.
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The purpose of the present study was to explore, from an insider perspective, the work experience of local special school personnel. A qualitative methodological approach was taken and a semi-structured interviewing technique was adopted. An opportunity sample of five Principals, six teachers and three school social workers from six local special schools for students with mild mental handicap participated in this study. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method and content analysis. The findings seem to suggest that the special school teachers in this study faced the dilemma of having competing roles within the school and that they could function as either caregiver or an educator. The two most pronounced themes that emerged from the data are that the local special school personnel in this study appeared to be isolated in terms of feedback and support and the five Principals were regarded as the only leaders to provide directions for the development of their schools. The results therefore demonstrate the need to develop intra- and inter-school support networks for local special school personnel to become more responsive to the needs of the classroom community. A number of recommendations for improvement in teacher education and in-service training are also discussed.
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Previous studies have suggested that placing students in ability groups for teaching purposes can have negative consequences on the self-esteem and motivation of the students placed in the lowest groups. The study reported here explored this phenomenon in relation to students in a Band 4-5 secondary school in Hong Kong. A self-report questionnaire, with items covering classroom motivation and attitude, was used to elicit responses from 212 students in the first and second year. The students were from three different ability groups, ranging from high ability (relative to a Band 4-5 school) to low ability. Results indicated significant differences between the mean scores for students in the highest and lowest ability groups in seven out of twenty items in the questioonaire. In general the findings indicate a less optimistic attitude and a reduced level of motivation in students from the lowest group. Research evidence has also suggested that ability grouping can have a negative impact on teachers' motivation and expectancy in relation to the lowest-ability groups. This study explored the expectancies, beliefs and attitudes of 25 teachers who work with the students identified above. It was found that the teachers typically held more negative views of low-ability classes. The article includes discussion of the implications of these findings in terms of modifying teachers' attitudes and improving the learning opportunities for low-ability secondary students.
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This paper recognizes the pressures to teachers in the broader climate of educational reform, and asserts that rich opportunities of professional learning are situated in challenges and critical incidents. By drawing data from experienced teacher, this paper elucidates teachers' guilt and resolution with a framework for promoting a culture of personal growth and professional development. The paper concludes by highlighting the creative energy inside teachers who can team up as networks of learners. When sharing deeply the minds and the hearts, they can re-discover deep values in realities of everyday life in a journey of life-long learning together.
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From the Americas to Asia, neoliberal policy restructuring continues to present major challenges to educational equity. In Hong Kong, teacher educators grapple with training students in pedagogy they believe in, versus the daily status quo of high-stakes exam prep, privatized "shadow education," and a system seemingly pushed to the brink of neoliberal social efficiency. Indeed, in recent years, Hong Kong has recorded top rankings on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Programme for International Student Assessment, along with record-setting protests and student suicides. Like in the USA, neoliberalization of teacher education in Hong Kong has proffered dilemmas of standardized curricula, evaluation, and licensure, often under the guise of "21st century skills and technology." Both regions also face perpetual threats of being under- or de-funded, based on "data-driven" decision-making and leadership that are supposedly more accountable and efficient. Unsurprisingly, neoliberal policies and practices have often exacerbated inequities in teaching and learning, especially for communities labelled as minority or working-class. Within traditions of critical pedagogy, this article's authors engage in a discussion on how educators and students are navigating the neoliberal behemoth and developing more inclusive spaces across local contexts of language, class, and culture. Based on the authors' research in the Americas and Greater China, this article interrogates some of the junctures and ruptures of neoliberal education in Hong Kong, long-held as bridge between "East" and "West." The article draws from the first author Benji Chang's action research projects with pre-and in-service teachers in the region, which examines how they are critiquing and challenging dominant discourses of neoliberalism (e.g., positivism, standardization, and market-economy), and what brings hope. Given Hong Kong's history of colonization with Europe and the USA, and the

This study aims to deliver a school‐based mode of training for in‐service teachers of students with ASD in Hong Kong. The training is delivered following the phases of implementation science, namely, exploration, installation, and implementation. The project team used the theory of mind approach, which enables teachers to engage with students with ASD and to focus on recognizing and reacting to emotions. Participants in this study included four educators from a teacher education institution, three expert teachers, and 19 in‐service teacher trainees. The most salient responses came from trainees who were provided with the opportunity to apply learned skills in their own classrooms immediately and to share the knowledge and skills in dealing with students with ASD in the post‐conference meetings.
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本文以香港中文准教師沉浸課程的學習成果為研究材料，比較學前學後 PSC（國家普通話水準測試）成績，結合自我評估問卷調查，檢測沉浸課程的普通話學習成效。資料顯示，有超過 70% 的准教師在參加沉浸課程後達到了 PSC 二級乙等或以上水準，較之前增加 30% ；個人成績提升了 6 分左右，近 70% 的准教師提升了至少一個等級 ；沉浸課程對 PSC 三級甲等或以下等級的提升作用最明顯。研究發現，以 PSC 為導向的普通話能力訓練，以及語言環境、語伴活動和文化考察等多元化的語境實踐，可以從多個層面促進准教師的普通話進步，以及專業發展和個人成長。沉浸課程具備可以提高內在動機和外在動機的多種誘因，同時也需要照顧學生的認知和情感 ；而學習者開放心態，投入學習，也是課程成功的重要因素。This research examines the effectiveness of an immersion program in the Putonghua learning of pre-service Chinese teachers in Hong Kong by studying their selfevaluation questionnaires, as well as their pre- and post-PSC (Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi ‘Putonghua Proficiency Test’) results. It is shown that more than 70% of preservice Chinese teachers are able to attain Level 2B or above in their PSC through this program, at least a level higher than the one they previously attained. Each of them is able to get around 6 more marks in his/her PSC. The total number of preservice Chinese teachers attaining the aforementioned level or above increases by 30%. It also leads to a remarkable improvement in the PSC results of pre-service Chinese teachers who previously attained Level 3A or below. The immersion program has the most obvious effect on the students at Level 3A below. Moreover, this research discovers that a PSC oriented Putonghua skills training, along with the application of language skills in real-life contexts through culture exploration activities or a language buddy program, can lead to a significant improvement in the Putonghua proficiency of pre-service Chinese teachers in Hong Kong, as well as professional development and personal growth. An immersion program provides them intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to improve their Putonghua proficiency. Meanwhile, we need to take care of students’ cognition and emotion. The success of such immersion program depends on whether pre-service Chinese teachers are openminded and willing to concentrate on their Putonghua learning. Copyright © 2018 香港教育大學.