Team-Teach is a school-wide holistic approach developed overseas and now available in Hong Kong for the management of children’s challenging behaviors. Training workshops in Team-Teach strategies are conducted by the Centre for Advancement of Inclusive and Special Education at the University of Hong Kong. The study reported here explored participants’ evaluations of a workshop for trainers, based on Team-Teach principles. In particular, attention was given to suitability of course objectives, relevance and quality of training materials, and skills of the trainers. Participants’ perceptions were then analyzed against their demographic information (ages, occupations, work settings). A follow-up study involving questionnaires and individual interviews was conducted one month after the training ended. Findings indicated that participants’ evaluations of the workshop were very positive, and similar to those reported in the UK, Northern Ireland and New Zealand. Brief suggestions are made for modifying some aspects of the workshop to suit the Hong Kong Chinese context. Copyright by Special Education Society of Hong Kong Limited. All Rights Reserved.

This study aimed to elaborate and make clear the correlations and cause-and-effect relationships among the variables: depression, suicide cognitions, positive perfectionism, and negative perfectionism. The participants comprised 412 Chinese university students at two Hong Kong universities, who completed the 18-item Suicide Cognitions Scale, the depression subscale of the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the 12-item Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale. The results of regression analysis indicated that depression is negatively predicted by positive perfectionism and positively predicted by negative perfectionism. Positive and negative perfectionism and depression were all found to be significant predictors of suicide cognitions. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that positive perfectionism and negative perfectionism have significant effects on suicide cognitions, and that suicide cognitions significantly affect depression. Individuals who exhibit healthy perfectionism may experience positive outcomes. It is critical for educators and parents to recognize the differences between positive perfectionism and negative perfectionism. When educators and parents convey negative perfectionist ideas to children, the outcomes can be extremely harmful. Copyright by Special Education Society of Hong Kong Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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.