This paper presents a Learning Study case on the topic of weight in the subject of Mathematics in a Hong Kong school of students with mild intellectual disabilities. The research team, composed of teachers from four Special Education schools, academic staff from a University and officials from the Education Bureau. The three parties worked as a learning community to design and implement a research lesson on the concept of weight.In Special Education Schools, the most common tool for teaching the topic of weight is a set of balance scale to compare the weight of two different objects. Through the demonstration of comparing two different objects, the lower side of the balance scale indicates the heavier weight. The findings of the pre-lesson student interviews show that the students only memorized the visual image of the lower or higher level of the balance scale without understanding what makes the difference in the height level of the balance scale. After identifying the learning difficulties of the students, the teachers realized that the conceptual understanding of weight is far more important than utterance of the observable phenomenon of the balance scale.The lesson adopted a communicative approach using the Variation Theory as a pedagogical tool and integrating the STEM elements in designing the learning activities to help students discern the critical features of the object of learning, as well as explore the concept of weight comprehensively through observation and inquiry. Students were encouraged to use their innate ability to estimate the weight of some objects in their daily life even without a balance scale in hand.This Learning Study case reports the implementation process with the support of video clips of student interviews and the research lesson. It is hoped that this presentation will open up the discussion about teaching the topic of weight in the field of special education. Copyright © 2018 WALS.

Although extracurricular music activities are common in Hong Kong, private music teachers’ perceptions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are underexplored in research in this context. This study examined private music teachers’ knowledge of ASD and their attitudes toward students with ASD in Hong Kong, and the relationship between these two factors. The study collected data from a questionnaire survey (n = 200) and eleven individual interviews. Unexpectedly, the findings showed that the teachers had a good understanding and a marginally positive perception of ASD, despite some anxiety about teaching students with ASD. Furthermore, knowledge of and attitude toward ASD were positively correlated. Teachers with previous training in special education needs had a better understanding of ASD and a more positive attitude toward ASD than those without related training. These results imply that further formal and public education could promote acceptance of and equal learning opportunities for students with ASD. Copyright © 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Teachers in special education, compared with those in mainstream contexts, encounter more challenging situations in teaching and suffer from lower psychological and emotional well-being. The major research purpose was to test the effects of teacher values, emotions and emotion regulation on their psychological well-being. The current sample included 66 teachers from three special education schools. Results showed that teachers’ intrinsic value, enjoyment, as well as cognitive reappraisal all positively predicted teachers’ life satisfaction, while teacher anger negatively predicted occupational stress. Moving a step further, when teachers’ cognitive reappraisal levels were taken into consideration, teachers who reported high anger but low cognitive reappraisal were found to have significantly lower life satisfaction. Comparatively, higher life satisfaction was found among teachers who reported high cognitive reappraisal. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in relation to research advances in teacher emotions and emotion regulation. Copyright © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Junjun Chen and Ronnel B. King; individual chapters, the contributors.

Although there is an increasing body of studies on assessing teacher emotions in mainstream education, there is a lack of appropriate measurement tools to assess the emotions of special school teachers. This study tested the generalizability of the 26-item Teacher Emotion Inventory (TEI) among 66 teachers from three special schools in Hong Kong using Rasch modeling. A range of key indicators (e.g., unidimensionality, item fit, person ability and item difficulty match) were tested. The results showed that the TEI for special education teachers (S-TEI) had generally acceptable psychometric properties. The S-TEI seems to be a valid tool to assess the emotions of special school teachers. Copyright © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Junjun Chen and Ronnel B. King; individual chapters, the contributors.

Little research has been conducted to gain deeper understandings of policy change of piloting special educational need coordinators (SENCO) in a Chinese education community. In response to the change in policy towards regularisation of the SENCO, we examined a trajectory of policymaking for SEN support in Hong Kong's integrated education. Critical discourse analysis as a discursive method of analysing the local SEN practices in relation to the international policy development was adopted. The key questions are: What is the difference between this Chinese integrated education and international policy development for inclusion? What effects of the pilot SENCO have emerged in the policy and media texts in the Chinese integrated education? What recommendations can be derived to inform the regularisation of SENCOs in ordinary public schools? The findings shed light on the conceptual discrepancy between integrated and inclusive education in the policymaking. The economic considerations and administration accountability of the pilot SENCO affected the regularisation. As reflected in this Chinese integrated education, we also discuss the implications of changing the SENCO policy for quality SEN support in schools. Copyright ©Routledge.

The Active Healthy Kids 2019 Hong Kong Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth with Special Educational Needs (SEN) provides evidence-based assessments for nine indicators of physical activity behaviors and related sources of influence for 6- to 17-year-olds with SEN in Hong Kong. This is the first Report Card for this population group in Hong Kong. The best available data between 2008 and 2019 were reviewed by a panel of experts. Following the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA) development process, letter grades were assigned to nine indicators (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behaviors, Family & Peers, School, Community & Environment, and Government Strategies & Investments). Two behavior indicators (Overall Physical Activity: F; Sedentary Behaviors: D+) and two contextual indicators (School: B; Government Strategies & Investments: C-) were assigned a letter grade. The remaining indicators including Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Family & Peers, and Community & Environment were not graded due to insufficient data. A majority of children and youth with SEN in Hong Kong are physically inactive and have a high level of sedentary behaviors. Schools are ideal settings to promote physical activity for this population. There is a need to develop a comprehensive surveillance system to monitor this population, assess efforts to improve the grades, and promote physical activity opportunities for children and youth with SEN. Copyright ©Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd.