There currently is a very vibrant discussion about international trends in education. A ripple effect is influencing common new government initiatives in mainstream schools around the world. This paper suggests that whilst such initiatives have excellent government led policy support, special schools are open to absorb what they can. These initiatives are frequently ignored as special schools seek to cope with the special needs challenges. These new internationally recognised initiatives will require teachers to appreciate the need for a paradigm shift to change their prevailing pedagogical practices. Special school education must match these trends for they can offer exciting new understandings of student ability if the teachers can appreciate and apply the principles of individual self-determination rather than dealing with the shroud of disability. It is time for a paradigm shift in the pedagogy of special education. Copyright by Special Education Society of Hong Kong Limited. All Rights Reserved.

The development of inclusive education practices have led to worldwide discussion of how best to deliver a more equal education apportunity for all. In Hong Kong this has led to the development of the concept of an inclusive curriculum for special schools. This paper looks at the implications of writing an inclusive curriculum that has common curriculum content for all pupils that is based on the State curriculum. Over a four year period, nine special schools for pupils of different designated disability collectively pooled their resources to work for one common curriculum goal. In doing so they discovered that the biggest challenge was to the teacher's hearts and minds. Over 130 teachers were involved in the project. It required a significant paradigm shift in the way the teachers thought both about what they taught and how they taught. It required a common team effort within and across each school. It was apparent that providing equal opportunity to raise standards of education for the all the pupils required the recognition that every teacher had to change their way of thinking, every teacher matters. 全納教育的發展及實踐已引發了全球性的討論，討論焦點為如何為所有學生提供平等教育機會的最佳方法。在香港，一個全納課程的概念正在特殊學校中發展。本文檢視這一套以中央課程為本及以課程內容適合所有學生的原則下發展的全納課程範式及其所涉及的問題。過去四年，九間收納不同弱能類別學生的特殊學校匯聚他們的資源，致力為達致同一課程目標工作。過程中，最大的挑戰來自教師的心能及熱誠。超過130位教師參與這個計劃。這計劃涉及一個重要的範式轉移，教師需要就教學內容及教學方法重新思考。這計劃亦需要學校共同努力。計劃顯示要達到為所有學生提供平等機會及提升教育水平的目的，每一位教師都需要改變他的思維方式︰一位教師都也不能少！
[Copyright of Hong Kong Special Education Forum is the property of Special Education Society of Hong Kong Ltd.. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
https://sites.google.com/a/seshk.org.hk/seshk-org-hk/c_publication]

This paper looks at the evolving trend of government influence on schools and education across the world, and asks what is happening in Hong Kong in both mainstream and special education. Recent evidence would suggest that in many countries governments are starting to question the efficacy of current policies and practices. The challenge is for the Hong Kong government to reduce its quasi influence, and for teachers to begin to self-examine the efficacy of their teaching practices in terms of meeting the needs of each and every student in their classroom. There appears to be a conflict of interest between the needs of the state and the needs of the classroom. If teachers were to be given more responsib1ility for the learning progress of each student, rather than simply the overall progress of groups of students, current pedagogical practices would require a major paradigm shift. 本文就全球不斷進展的趨勢,檢視各國政府政策對學校及教育的影響,並探討香港主流教育與特殊教育的現況。最新資料顯示,不少國家的政府已開始懐疑現行政策及實踐的成效,香港政府要面對的挑戰,是如何減少它在形式上的影響及如何令老師開始自我審視在處理個別學生需要教學方法的效益。事實上,國家所認同的需要與課堂裹所期望的需要,像各有分歧。作者指出,如果老師要為每一個學生學習進展負責而不是為一群學生的整體進步為目標,則現行的教學實踐需經歷一次重大的範式轉移。
[Copyright of Hong Kong Journal of Special Education is the property of Special Education Society of Hong Kong Ltd.. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
https://sites.google.com/a/seshk.org.hk/seshk-org-hk/c_publication]

ALL students, irrespective of their learning abilities and medical disabilities, should have access to the principles and practices of mainstream education. This is the guiding principle of equal opportunity in education that has been successfully promoted by the concept of inclusion. This paper identifies a diversity-based approach that requires special schools to look at their provision through the pedagogical, curriculum management and assessment procedures that apply to students of all levels of attainment. It provides a mainstream education perspective and not a special school education perspective. In 2006 a team of teachers from nine special schools in Hong Kong with the full range of classified learning difficulties joined a curriculum development Project called SAME and initiated the writing of one new common curriculum based on mainstream education. (The SAME Curriculum Project, 2008). Then in 2009 they wrote a form of continuous ipsative assessment to cover their common curriculum. The assessment tool called SCALE has been used for the past three years in the nine project schools to collect criteria (CASE, 2009). The results of this cross-school and within-school comparison of student attainment data provide for the first time, insight for schools to review their pattern of curriculum orientation and compare this with other schools with students of similar ability levels. Such information is crucial to inform school in curriculum management planning that will raise the level of student attainment. This paper explains how SCALE was written and explores the emerging data across schools to support yearly school review and planning; it explores the emerging data within school for classes; and it explores the emerging data to support teacher's practices with individual students. 平等教育機會及融合教育的主導原則是所有學生，不管他的學習能力及殘疾為何，應有機會透過主流教育的原則及方法進行學習。本文介紹一種以學習差異為本的教學方法，要求特殊學校透過一種適合所有能力水平學生的課程管理，評估程序及教學方式去檢視學校的教與學，同時以主流教育的視野作為設計的基礎。2006年一群來自九間特殊學校的老師，當中包括不同弱能類別及不用程度學習困難的學生，參加了一個名為融通計劃