Elite schools take globalization seriously. But, how do they imagine globalization and put "globalization in action"? Drawing on Burawoy's (2000) sociological framework, "global forces, connectivity and imaginations", this paper reveals how two elite schools, Catheral College in Hong Kong, and Clarence High, in Singapore re-position schooling vis-à-vis globalization. From the broader global imaginings of the two elite schools, the paper then moves on to the micro analysis of the school's curriculum as an exemplification of "globalization in action". There is a visible articulation of learning outside the classroom and beyond its shores in the two elite schools. Students travel to far flung and regional countries for immersion, service learning, leadership training and study tour to widen their portfolio of academic credential; for elite schools know best that good grades for these high caliber students is a given. What they need to add on to their cultural capital are cosmopolitan sensibilities and dispositions. Elite schools clearly have this pedagogical mission in mind when they globalized their curriculum, but are these travels merely educational tourism as critics have suggested or does travel and mobility indeed shape their cosmopolitan sensibilities and dispositions? And is this for the nation or beyond the nation? The final section of the paper draws on interview data to discuss how travel and mobility shape students' subjectivity and affect, and their 'being' and 'becoming' in relation to the nation and/or beyond the nation.

Teachers sometimes limit the opportunities for students to learn because they perceive that their students have limited ability or potential for learning. In this paper, through a case study, we show how teachers taking part in a learning study learnt to cater for students’ individual differences and at the same time, opened up opportunities for students to reach their potential. The learning study took place in special school settings in Hong Kong. Instead of following their former practice which was considered to be tailoring the curriculum to the students’ perceived ability, the group of teachers tried to find a powerful object of learning, such that further learning can be built, leading to a level of learning that they had never dared to try to reach before. The outcome was encouraging and had great impact on the teachers involved.

Although worldwide practices of inclusive education aim to provide equal learning opportunities for students with special educational needs (SEN) to support their learning performance in schooling, comparatively less is known about these students' competences in preparing and achieving their post-secondary school outcomes. This study extended previous research on testing ordinary secondary students' career development self-efficacy to the population of students with special educational needs. Participants were grades 9 to 12 SEN students in Hong Kong. Eight types of SEN were included. The Career Development Self-Efficacy Inventory (CE-SEI) assessed five key domains of career development self-efficacy (i.e., career planning, career goal setting, training selection, job hunt preparation, and job hunting). The confirmatory factor analysis supported the consistency of internal structure of this instrument in SEN students. The correlation analysis showed statistically significant correlations among the five key factors of career development. This study has practical implications to help school stakeholders to develop effective career guidance to support SEN students by using this validated short form of CE-SEI as a useful screening tool to diagnose pre-existing problems of SEN students' career development self-efficacy. Implications of this study are also discussed in relation to current implementation of career guidance and lifelong education policy in secondary schools.

Based on interview data from a wide range of stakeholders in Hong Kong, this study provides valuable findings of current progress and challenges of Special Educational Needs students’ post-school transition.

By integrating family functioning and parents’ evaluation of self-determination of students with special educational needs (SEN), this study tests parents’ attitudes towards inclusive education in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has experienced a major shift in inclusive education since 1997. The present study examines practical challenges for including learners with ASD in ordinary school setting.

This study investigated changes in teacher self-efficacy for inclusive practice using a mixed method research design. Participants were 417 in-service teachers in Hong Kong taking a 1-week basic teacher-training course about inclusive education. Data were collected pre and post participation in the course using the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices Scale (TEIP). A series of five in-depth focus-group interviews provided greater clarification of the perceptions and efficacy issues of teachers. The best predictors to participants’ teaching self-efficacy were confidence in teaching students with special education needs (SEN) and knowledge of legislation and policies for inclusive practice. From the focus-groups, results demonstrated a more positive attitude change towards students with SEN with a number of essential factors emerging as highly beneficial for inclusive teaching in Hong Kong (i.e. caring and love, school environment and curriculum adaption). The discussion considers the role of short training programmes as an appropriate means to improving self-efficacy for teaching within inclusive classrooms in Hong Kong.
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