This study aimed at providing explanation and prediction of principals' inclusive education intentions and practices under the framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). A sample of 209 principals from Hong Kong schools was surveyed using five scales that were developed to assess the five components of TPB: attitude, subjective norm, perceived behaviour control, intention, and behaviour. Rasch analysis was utilised to examine the psychometric quality of the scales and generate principals' measures, which were subsequently subjected to path analysis to investigate the relationships among the five components. The results revealed a good model-data fit. Principals' attitude and perceived subjective norm were strong and significant predictors of their intention to implement inclusive education. The predictive power of perceived behaviour control on intention was not significant. Intention and perceived behaviour control were found to have significant predictive power for principals' reported inclusive practice. The implications of the findings are discussed.
[Copyright of Cambridge Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2014.934203]

One of the main features of globalization is the increasing mobility of population. As an immigrant society, Hong Kong has witnessed waves of Mainland Chinese arrivals and assimilation into her mainstream, particularly around the change of sovereignty period. school-aged children constitute a substantial fraction of the new population. Given their potential impact on Hong Kong's present and future, how these immigrant youngsters perform in school has always been a concern to the public as well as the government. This study compared Hong Kong 8th-graders' mathematics performance in the four rounds of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study by their immigrant status. The results showed that the first-generation immigrant students' performance had obvious retrogression compared to native students in the past years. Among the natives, non-local-born students with only their father born in Hong Kong had the most similar performance as the first-generation immigrants. The causes for the differences are explored from both internal and external perspectives.
[Copyright of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2011.621673]

The survey compared the scores of 159 (118 females) randomly selected Brunei and Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) student teachers on the New General Self-efficacy Scale (NGSS); Self-efficacy in Implementing Inclusive Practices Scale (SIIPS); Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (SACIES); and Inclusive Classroom Setting Scale (ICSS). The scales were reliable and valid for use with participants in both countries. Females scored significantly higher on NGSS than male counterparts. In addition, Brunei participants scored significantly higher on NGSS and SACIES than Hong Kong peers. Furthermore, the samples' scores differed significantly on NGSS and SACIES by participants' educational level with A-Level trainees scoring highest. Moreover, the majority of the participants generally scored high on all the scales. However, Two-Way ANOVA revealed only one independent variable (ICSS) with a significant main effect on SIIPS, the dependent variable. Also only one lower-order interaction variable (gender and educational level) had a significant joint effect on the dependent variable, SIIPS. Overall, the results indicate a need to increase self-efficacy in males and Hong Kong students. Extra attention and interventions ought to be directed to SACIES and ICSS variables. Mixed-methods research was recommended to gain more comprehensive insights.
[Copyright of Asian Social Science is the property of Canadian Center of Science and Education. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/]

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) claims that behaviour can be predicted by behavioural intention and perceived behavioural control, while behavioural intention is a function of attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. This study aims at providing explanation and prediction of teachers' inclusive education intentions and behaviour under TPB. The main components of TPB were implemented in a survey of 841 teachers from Hong Kong schools in the context of inclusive education. The structural equation modelling results show that TPB fitted the data well (X2/df = 2.84; RMSEA = 0.054; GFI = 0.92; CFI = 0.92; and TLI = 0.91). Identified attributes, including teachers' attitude towards inclusive education, feeling social pressure from important others to carry out inclusive education, and confidence on professional training for involved staff, were found to exert significant predictive power on teachers' intention to implement inclusive education. This intention, together with the confidence on professional training for involved staff, predicts their actual inclusive practice. Teachers' perception of social pressure and adequacy of professional training greatly contribute to predict their intention and behaviour towards inclusive education, respectively. TPB appears to be a sound theoretical framework for understanding teachers' inclusive practice. The results have strong implications for teacher empowerment and professional training in inclusive education.
[Copyright of International Journal of Inclusive Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2012.757811]

The international literature reflects the significance of transition services for postschool outcomes of students with disabilities. In 2008, the Hong Kong Government introduced a policy to support students with disabilities, especially those with specific learning difficulties (SLD), to transition to postschool life in inclusive settings. This article focuses on the status of policy implementation in Hong Kong and its link to the higher education participation of students with SLD. Analyses are based on expectations of policymakers for school practices in transition services, parental experiences, and a discussion forum involving postsecondary students with SLD, advocacy groups, and university student affair personnel. Findings reveal a lack of expectation for implementation and school accountability from policymakers, an extremely low participation rate of students with SLD in higher education, a slow development of support systems in higher education, and the significant role played by an advocacy group on moving the higher education support forward in the absence of a policy mandate. By focusing on the close relationship between transition services and postsecondary outcomes, the use of legislation for disability policies to ensure the provision of transition services and the role of self and external advocacy to lobby for such legislation are recommended and discussed.
[Copyright of Australasian Journal of Special Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jse.2013.4]

To describe inclusive practices in Hong Kong schools, the author presents the current state of educating children and youth with disabilities in Hong Kong schools. The article also highlights specific strategies in the inclusive educational settings that promote holistic learning and development for children in the region. Implications for other countries are also discussed.
[Copyright of Preventing School Failure is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2013.780232]

In this paper the authors employ a case study approach to investigate the transition process for a student with special educational needs from a Hong Kong subsidised primary school into a secondary school. An analysis of transcripts from individual and focus group interviews with the student, his parents, his 4 primary teachers and his 10 secondary teachers, as well as government documents and notes of school observations, indicated that a lack of formal procedures for supporting a student's transition can result in a range of significant difficulties. The discussion focuses on the urgent need to develop strategic guidelines at a systemic level within Hong Kong, with a much greater focus on a collaborative school approach rather than the current overreliance on the parents to lead this process.
[Copyright of Australasian Journal of Special Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jse.2013.8]