School counselling in Hong Kong eagerly look for effective ways to support students in needs. In this study, psychosocial condition was mainly conceptualized as well-being, aimed at improving the psychosocial effects by cultivating a state of mindful awareness, as school counselling intends to achieve. The study aims to 1) examine the participants’ constructs of mindfulness; 2) evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the programme, and 3) to evaluate its possible impacts for improving the psychosocial condition of student in the context of school guidance. Finally, the implication for the development of cultural approaches to counselling will be discussed, in against the situation that the counselling theories and practices currently adopted by Hong Kong schools are mainly “borrowed” from western societies.

Cultural diversity is an issue of both policy and practice for Hong Kong. In relation to the growing number of ethnic minority students in Hong Kong, many schools are exploring ways to enhance the multicultural competency of teachers and accordingly promote the cultural responsiveness in the classroom, so that the cultural diversity of ethnic minority students could be fulfilled and that their academic achievement could be improved. The paper examines how teachers and students construct the multicultural competency and cultural responsiveness. It specifically focuses on the learning needs of ethnic minority students, who came from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand. The qualitative data were collected from interview, through which the views of twenty-four teachers from three secondary schools were explored. The themes generated from the interviews will be reported. This paper argues that to promote cultural diversity, it is not only necessary for the school and government to address and fulfill the diverse needs of students, in terms of the emotional, social, cultural and spiritual aspects of their “self”, but equally important to manage the dynamics of the different cultures and accordingly develop a connected ecology of learning in which cultural responsiveness can be made possible.

Regular schools in Hong Kong are concerned about the growing enrolments of students with special educational needs (SEN) and how these students could be included in school guidance. Based upon the author’s nine-year personal experience of conducting courses on school guidance in the context of inclusive education at a key training institution in Hong Kong and research findings of a case study into teacher’s constructs of the inclusivity of school guidance (Hue ,2010) , three dimensions of teacher professional training for the inclusivity of school guidance are identified: developing inclusive counselling practices; developing inclusive strategies of behaviour management ; and dealing with the impacts of wider systems. This chapter gives insights into the professional needs of guidance teach-ers from regular schools and the promotion of the inclusivity of school guidance through teacher education.

Many Hong Kong schools are concerned about how diverse learning needs of ethnic minority students could be better fulfilled. This study examines local teachers’ constructs of assessment classroom environments. Using qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews with 32 teachers from three secondary schools, this study shows ways in which summative assessment influences teachers’ formative assessment practices. Cultural responsiveness in this study is not limited to the notion of multiculturalism. It can be constructed under the ethos of respect, care and equality. The culturally responsive approach to assessment described in this study foregrounds considerations of cultural influence in teachers’ beliefs regarding assessment. Principles of culturally responsive assessment identified include: (i) integrating the ‘part’ of assessment with the ‘whole’ of teaching, (ii) managing the diverse learning needs of students, (iii) removing language barriers from the assessment process and (iv) examining the influence of the public examination on teachers’ classroom assessment practice.
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The paper examines the management of classroom discipline. The objective was to examine how they constructed indiscipline and good discipline, and accordingly what practices they facilitated to manage students’ behaviour. Qualitative data were collected from four Hong Kong secondary schools. Twelve teachers were interviewed. Eight lessons were observed. Results indicated that classroom discipline was a crucial factor for effective teaching. Also, the classroom itself could hardly separate from the wider context where it was located, such as school structure and cultural values. The implications of these findings, particularly to other countries, are given. Some appropriate recommendations for change are discussed.

Student teachers are concerned with discipline as in-service teachers do. The study aims to explore their knowledge of classroom discipline. The study is qualitative, descriptive and narrative in nature. The research method of unstructured interviews was employed to capture their professional knowledge of classroom discipline. Ten student teachers from Hong Kong were involved. Throughout the two-month period of their teaching practicum in Hong Kong secondary schools, three interviews for each participant were conducted. The study illuminates the classroom experience of student teachers and reveals that they found difficult to transfer concepts and skills mastered during their training to the classroom. Further, with the exploration of the convictions and meanings that have arisen from their experience, the initial findings enhance our understanding of their needs regarding classroom discipline. The implications to the professional development, future studies into discipline, and the promotion of positive classroom discipline strategies will be given.