This report is part of a larger project investigating school satisfaction of early adolescents in Hong Kong. The research questions in this part of the study focused on the school experience of 21 high-ability Chinese students aged 9–14 in Hong Kong primary and secondary schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the participants. From the qualitative data collected, six influences on their school satisfaction emerged ― two that could be classified as 'personal influences' (goal-directed thoughts and motivation; self-discipline and self-regulation) and four themes that reflected 'environmental influences' (positive teacher-student relationships, classmates emotional and instrumental support, parental involvement in students' learning, talent development opportunities). The findings from the study can help to inform school personnel on modifiable aspects of school environments that can help high-ability students succeed and at the same time enjoy their school life.
[Copyright © 2017 The Author(s).]

Professional Special Education training in Hong Kong is usually arranged in the lecture format. Furthermore, the provision of such courses for in-service teachers were often limited by the short duration of time. Videos, therefore, show the powerfulness to create learning experience in individual lessons for teacher training, as well as showing how the videos, combined with case studies, to complement the entire course as well as the practicum. Individual interviews were conducted to understand the process of the whole process of video learning. By applying the concept of scaffolding, the influence of videos and case studies on teaching and learning comes from the articulation of the participants, as well as the summative assessments. It is hoped that this article will inform the practitioners or teacher educators who would like to use videos and case studies to help teachers in understanding the needs of students with special needs.