Daily about 75 school-aged children from Mainland China arrived in the schools in Hong Kong. Although children from China were similar in cultural heritage, their "foreignness" in terms of personal characteristics, such as behavior and learning style, dialect differences, or lack of colloquialness, gave them away as "different". This study intends to examine the lived experiences of the teachers in teaching newly arrived children (NAG). The study consists of multiple case studies using a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with school administrators and teachers in nine schools. Findings indicate that schools that operated from an open-door policy contain a higher percentage of MAC than schools that applied strict admission policy. Teachers of the former schools were more negative and apprehensive in their experience in teaching and managing NAC's learning and behavior. They saw the later cohort of NAC more difficult to teach than the earlier cohort. Teachers were unprepared and the strategies they resorted in varied from applying a difference-blind principle to watering down the curriculum. The study causes concern of an education system that lacks critical cultural understanding and sensitivity in catering for cultural diversity. Poverty of bilingual and multicultural education knowledge prevailed in most schools. In order to achieve just educational provisions for these pupils, the study concludes that schools should consider a more flexible grade level system, a curriculum that takes equality of access, survival, output, and outcome into serious considerations. Further, a multicultural teacher education training program is highly recommended to ensure culturally proficient teachers.

This study focuses on teachers’ perception of what works for them in managing students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD). The main purpose is to compare the current findings in mainstream schools with the study that was conducted in special schools in 2006–2007 to see if there are any discrepancies of approaches implemented by teachers. This recent study was carried out in 11 mainstream schools involving 102 teachers. It is compared to the seven special schools with 89 teachers. Focus group interviews with the same open-ended questions were adopted for both studies. Findings indicated that the majority of the strategies perceived by both groups of teachers as helpful were very similar, and they can be classified under eight major categories. In collating all the approaches deemed supportive in working with EBD students, a holistic conceptual framework is delineated to address the complexities of managing emotional and behavioral disturbances.
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On teacher preparation, Forlin, Chong and Au conducted a survey on a group of postgraduate students taking a module on catering for diversity in September 2005. A four-part likert instrument was used to obtain pre- and post-data. The survey aimed to find out whether there were changes in teachers' attitudes, beliefs, and concerns following participation in a course of study.

This paper addresses issues of cultural minority students in Hong Kong. The study involved multiple case studies of nine schools where interviews with principals and teachers were carried out. Findings demonstrate that Hong Kong, as an international city, is conservatively behind in dealing with cultural differences. Many mainstream schools are reluctant to accept children who do not belong to the Cantonese-speaking group. For example, new arrival children from Mainland China with additive cultural capital are generally welcomed by the schools, whereas those with negative cultural capital are often rejected, retained or demoted by schools. Further, children of South Asian decent can only attend one of the seven government-funded schools that cater for ethnic minority pupils. The study found schools in Hong Kong greatly behind in multicultural knowledge, skills, and experience in working with children from diverse cultural backgrounds. The paper attempts to draw implications for future policy.