In Hong Kong, students with special educational needs (SEN) are able to access the senior secondary education in the 12-year free education. Teachers teaching students with SEN have to prepare their students with knowledge, skills, and competency for overcoming the challenges of lifelong learning and career planning. It is well noted the post-school transition period signifies the transition to adulthood and independent life. A successful transition may lead to students’ adaptive motivation to continuing higher education or employment opportunities, which contributes to good quality of life. However, for students with SEN, they often need to face more challenges than regular students do. This chapter first discusses the contextual analysis for the education of students with SEN in Hong Kong schools by analyzing the increasing number and complexity of disabilities, concerted effort in school support and pathways of postsecondary education. However, teachers always reported the uncertainties and difficulties in supporting the smooth transition of the SEN graduates. By taking account of the research done by the authors specifically through a series of focus group interviews to a wide range of stakeholders, the chapter identifies variables affecting the post-school transition outcomes of students with SEN in Hong Kong. With reference to the contextual needs, the identified variables inform the policy change in career guidance and support for students with SEN. Implications and recommendations at individual, school, community, and policy levels are discussed. In regard to the development of career guidance and planning in schools, this chapter will finally conclude the intensive support, supporting strategies, and multiple pathways for students with SEN in Hong Kong.

Developing generic skills is a core component of the current educational reforms in Asia in response to global demands to shift towards a knowledge-based economy in the last two decades. The study adopted a mixed approach by using a survey and interviews to find out the views of a group of students and teachers about the effects of the school curriculum on developing students' self-management and leadership skills. The findings show that learning self-management and leadership skills has been infused in the school curriculum, and is not exclusive to a particular curriculum area in Hong Kong schools.
[Copyright © 2017 James Nicholas Publishers.]

Aim: The paper reports the findings of a study on teachers’ perception of professional development (PD) activities in the context of Hong Kong secondary schools. Drawing on the findings, the characteristics of a sustainable approach to teacher professional development are identified. Content: The study adopted a mixed method design. The study aims to identify the major types of PD activities participated, types of reflections mainly adopted, and the most effective format of PD activity as perceived by teachers. A total of 636 teachers from 16 schools participated in the survey. Further, 30 teachers from 13 schools participated in the follow-up interviews. Quantitative findings revealed significant differences in perceptions on PD activities participated, influence of PD on teachers’ teaching capacity and the effectiveness of the PD activities among teachers at different stages of professional experiences, and those with different amount of administrative responsibilities. On the one hand, novice teachers with less than seven years of experience were more frequently involved in PD activities than the more experienced group. They also considered peer collaboration as an important element in improving teaching and learning. However, experienced teachers (with more than 25 years of teaching experience) were more concerned about the development of teaching expertise. Further, findings also showed that teachers with administrative responsibilities considered all aspects of PD activities important. Qualitative findings suggested that the most frequent form of PD was one-off training workshops and seminars. However, pedagogical knowledge obtained from these workshops was perceived as too theoretical. Second, the type of PD that informed teachers’ reflection and their practice was lesson observation or appraisal activities which include lesson observation. The third type of PD was the most effective when teachers with different levels of teaching experiences form

Following Grandey's integrative model of emotional labor, this study examined the relationships between teachers' emotional labor strategies, the emotional job demands of teaching, trust in colleagues, and teacher efficacy. The results from a sample of 1115 Hong Kong primary school teachers showed that surface acting played a dysfunctional role, but deep acting and expression of naturally felt emotion facilitated teacher efficacy. Trust in colleagues was found to be an organizational resource for teachers that helped them to cope with the challenges brought about by the emotional demands of teaching. The results indicate that teachers should perform emotional labor wisely.
[Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.]

Various terms have been used to define civic education (CE) in Hong Kong since the colonial era. This has been particularly true since 2011, when CE has been given many names, causing confusion among educators. Mixed methods were employed to examine teachers’ perceptions of different conceptions of CE expressed as moral, civic and national education. The findings indicate that some teachers might not be able to differentiate among moral education, CE and national education. Most teachers contended that national education should be included in CE, while others believed the opposite. Teachers perceived that moral and civic education was more successful than moral and national education in cultivating students to become ‘good citizens’. Teachers’ comprehension of these terms has policy and pedagogical implications. While the study is set within the context of Hong Kong, the findings are valuable to policymakers and educators in other countries seeking to improve CE.
[Copyright © 2016 British Association for International and Comparative Education.]

This article draws upon the experiences of a five-year government-funded university–school partnership project known as the Partnership for Improvement of Learning and Teaching (PILT) (2004–09), aimed at supporting teachers through improving their teaching quality and enhancing their professional growth in key learning areas – particularly mathematics, education and personal, social and humanities education – and initial experience of another completed project, the School Improvement Project for Early Childhood Education (SIP-ECE). The article first describes the rationale and operation of the PILT and SIP-ECE, respectively, and then explores the application of a 4-P (problem clarification, planning, programme action and progress evaluation) action learning approach to the improvement of subject teaching practice. This is followed, through case studies, by an exploration of teachers' own perceptions and university partners' perceptions of professional development and instructional improvement through the project. The final part of the article refers to Western concepts of professional development and university–school partnership, and suggests ways forward for school-based teacher development and instructional improvement in Hong Kong.
[Copyright © 2012 by the Editor.]

Demand has risen for the introduction of career education in senior secondary schooling to enhance students' transition from study to work. Against such a background, this paper aims to discuss the curriculum reforms and supporting structures in schools and to explore the challenges of life skills planning for secondary school students in China with particular reference to Hong Kong. Literature review and examples from Hong Kong and China indicate that although various Vocational (Career) Development Education and Career and Life Planning Education (CLPE) activities and school-based curriculum development take place at schools, a clear linkage between study opportunities and career choices, enhancement of learning experiences at work through activities such as job shadowing and provision of a curriculum to enhance career and life planning across years as dimensions of intervention, seem not to be found at secondary schools in Hong Kong. This paper will also look into the implications for future development of CLPE.
[Copyright © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.]