It is increasingly recognized in the field of gifted education that giftedness is asynchronous development, which posits that the combination of advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity and sensitivity in the gifted population creates inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. The asynchronous development of the gifted renders them vulnerable particularly in the social-emotional aspects (Silverman, 1993). The purpose of this chapter is to look into the social-emotional characteristics of gifted students. It is further asserted that the social-emotional challenges or inner conflicts experienced by the gifted students were actually the driving force of the personal development for the gifted students. Implications on effective counselling for the gifted are also discussed with the aim to facilitate an optimal personal development of the gifted in a Hong Kong school context.

School participation rates in Hong Kong are acknowledged to be high but not always for the city’s ethnic minority students. Case study was used to portray the ‘out of school’ phenomenon for ethnic minority students at a secondary school in Hong Kong through the experiences of one such ethnic minority student. Morshed, a Pakistani student, participated with the researchers in an unstructured in-depth interview. In addition, interviews were also conducted with the principal, two teachers, and one support staff from the school. The study showed the complex interaction of school contexts and personal life issues that influenced Morshed’s dropping out of school. Implications are drawn for providing better school support that can facilitate more positive schooling experiences for Hong Kong’s ethnic minority students.
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This chapter examines eduplay, an educational form of play with Chinese characteristics, as a means of promoting social competence and play-based counselling in early childhood. Although the policies of the Hong Kong government increasingly require a play-based curriculum, many teachers and parents believe that play will detract from academics. However, the term "eduplay" was first introduced in Rao's article (2009), a form of play-based education with "Chinese characteristics" which captures the beliefs of teachers and parents about what should happen and occurs in Chinese early childhood settings (Rao & Li, 2009). Eduplay is a method of learning by playing, an approach that may be more acceptable to teachers and parents in Hong Kong. Results from an experimental study of preschools are presented, showing that eduplay was successful in reducing two problem behaviours, namely clinging and demanding attention. These results have implications for incorporating meaningful play into a play-based curriculum.
[Copyright © 2016 Taylor and Francis.]

School Counselling in a Chinese Context discusses research in school counselling in the Chinese context of Hong Kong schools and various educational settings, and provides a contextualized understanding of counselling issues. This book highlights key contextual conditions for counselling in Hong Kong – a Chinese society. The sub themes addressed in the book include school practices and teacher perspectives on guidance, counselling, behaviour support and school discipline; whole-school guidance program for identity construction; school counselling for ethnic minority students; contextual influence of the use of play therapy; school counselling for students with minority sexual orientation; Chinese cultural influence on counselling, etc. The book also develops new theoretical orientations to understanding various issues of counselling as arisen in the Chinese society of Hong Kong and helps school practitioners to develop culturally responsive approaches to school counselling for personal growth, spiritual and emotional education. The themes addressed in the book include: School practices and teacher perspectives on guidance, counselling, behavior support and school discipline .School counselling for ethnic minority students .Contextual and cultural influence of the use of play therapy .School counselling for students with minority sexual orientation .Chinese culture influence on parental participation in counselling School Counselling in a Chinese Context will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers in the field of Counselling, school psychology, child development and Chinese studies.
[Copyright © 2016 Taylor and Francis.]

Preschool teachers are an important element of high-quality, developmentally and multiculturally appropriate early childhood programmes. 7.5% of the total 160,000 children enrolled in Hong Kong kindergartens are ethnic-minority students and they are neglected in the Hong Kong education system until 2008. This study investigated the perceptions of teaching competency in multicultural classrooms held by 347 teachers at 22 kindergartens in Hong Kong. The study aims at (a) using Confirmatory Factor Analysis to validate the factor structure of the multicultural meaching competency scale (MTCS) among preschool teachers, (b) assessing the model difference of MTCS between teachers with and without multicultural training, and (c) informing the practice of multicultural teaching in early childhood education. The results indicated that a tripartite model in which the MTCS assessed skills, knowledge, and relationships obtained a statistical fit to a Hong Kong preschool sample, as in earlier research on a primary school sample in Hong Kong.
[Copyright © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.]

Many Hong Kong schools are concerned with the growing number of enrolments of ethnic minority students. This article examines teachers' views of their influence on the performance of these students and how the cultural diversity among these students were addressed. Qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews with thirty-two teachers from three secondary schools. This study shows that teachers struggle to conceptualize a new rationale for responding to cultural diversity. They develop a sense of inter-cultural sensitivity, promote cultural responsiveness to diversity, and strengthen the home-school connection. The implication for the creation of a culturally responsive classroom will be given.