Many schools and NGOs in Hong Kong are deeply concerned with the welfare of ethnic minority students. This paper examines the experience of teachers working in schools where Chinese and non-Chinese students are accommodated. Quantitative and qualitative data respectively collected from a survey and an interview study will be reported. The survey involving 282 teachers from 10 schools explored their perceptions of teaching efficacy. The findings showed that teachers felt more confident in teaching non-Chinese than teaching Chinese students. This finding was illuminated by an interview study into teachers’ view of the cross-experience of students. 25 teachers from four schools were involved. It showed that teachers constructed the behaviour and needs of Chinese and non-Chinese students and their parents differently, in terms of social behaviour, cultural practices, gender identities, languages, and educational aspiration, and that the school, home and community were disconnected. This paper argues that to implement the ethos of equality and social justices, it is not only necessary for the school and government to develop culturally responsive approaches to teaching, but equally important to develop a connected schooling ecology where ethnic minority students and parents can be consistently supported in classroom, in school, at home and in community.

An important feature of Hong Kong's education reform over the past decade has been the articulation of the "no loser principle". This policy statement was meant to signal that all students are valuable and will benefit from both basic and senior secondary education. Yet barriers remain for the 2.9% of students under the age of 15 who can be classified as ethnic minorities. Until the 2008 Racial Discrimination Ordinance (RDO), the educational needs of these students remained an invisible issue for the school system. This article examines the policy context in which Hong Kong schools have made provisions for ethnic minority students, and reviews classroom practices that operationalize these policies on a daily basis. In an interview study involving 32 teachers' narratives of how they managed the cultural diversity of ethnic minority students in classrooms (Hue & Kennedy, 2012, 2013), it was reported that at the practical level, teachers struggle to meet the diverse needs of students and to conceptualize a new rationale for responding to cultural diversity. The implications of promoting ethnic minority education at the three levels of policy, practice and research are discussed.
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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.

Hong Kong secondary teachers, as elsewhere, are concerned with students’ misbehaviour. In Hong Kong secondary schools, two teams of teachers, a guidance team and a discipline team, are formed to deal with this behaviour. This article examines how teachers made sense of their caring work and the strategies they adopted for behaviour management. Taking the interactionist perspective (Blumer, 1962, 1966), the framework suggested by Stebbin (1969, 1975) was adopted for exploring how teachers defined the situation in which they participated. Qualitative data were collected using interviews and classroom observation. Sixty teachers were interviewed. Eighteen classrooms were observed. The influence of the classical Chinese philosophy of Confucianism, emerging as a main theme from the data, was prominent, as its key principles were incorporated into the teachers’ personal system of caring. The findings illuminate the influence of Chinese culture in Hong Kong schools. Implications for the promotion of culturally responsive programmes for the promotion of pastoral care are drawn.

Hong Kong schools are concerned with students’ behaviourial problems. This article examines how teachers narrated about the strategies adopted for improving students’ behaviour. Interactionist perspective was taken to explore how teachers defined the situation in which they participated. Interviews and classroom observation were conducted. Sixty teachers were involved. Eighteen classrooms were observed. The influence of Daoism, emerging as one of themes from the data, was prominent, as its principles were incorporated into the teachers’ belief in behaviour management. The findings showed that the influence of Chinese culture in Hong Kong schools is prominent while approaches to behaviour management based upon western societies and theories are “imported”. Implications for the promotion of culturally responsive programmes for behaviour management are drawn.

The stress that negatively affects teachers has been found to influence the turnover rate in the teaching profession. Recent research has shown that mindfulness-based programmes effectively promote well-being while addressing psychological distress. In this study, the authors investigated the effects of a six-week mindfulness-based programme on pre-service teachers in Hong Kong (N = 70). The authors hypothesised that a six-week mindfulness-based programme would increase mindfulness and well-being while reducing stress and symptoms of depression. Both intervention and control groups were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. A univariate analysis revealed a significant increase in mindfulness and well-being. A regression analysis indicated that mindfulness was a significant predictor of well-being, stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Qualitative data reflected that the mindfulness programme was beneficial to and feasible for pre-service teachers. Such a programme could be implemented in teaching education to promote well-being and stress management while preventing burnout among teaching professionals.
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