This paper reports an investigation of the job satisfaction of teachers of severely mentally handicapped (smh) schools in Hong Kong. Responses to a modified version of the Job Description Index (JDI) are shown to be internally consistent and evidence is presented of the convergent and discriminant validity of the JDI scales. The teachers of the smh students were shown to be content with aspects of their job other than promotion opportunities, more so than representative samples of Hong Kong primary, secondary, and moderate grade mentally handicapped school teachers and psychiatric nurses. The JDI scales showed some power to predict intention to leave their current job.
[Copyright © 2000 De La Salle University, Philippines.]

The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes of final year students in teacher preparation program and in-service physical education teachers toward including students with disabilities into regular settings between Hong Kong (HK) and mainland China (MC), and to further examine the influences of attitudes on development of adapted physical education program. Total 152 participants (53 4th year students and 43 in-service teachers) from HK, and 56 students from MC participated in this study. A survey was conducted regarding students' attitudes toward inclusion (type disability can be included, type of experience and skills they need for inclusion), and opinions and concerns about inclusion (open questions). The results of survey indicated that both students and in-service teachers in HK and MC philosophically support inclusion, however, there were many concerns and different opinions regarding inclusion when they answered open-end questions. For question #1 "Students with disabilities should be taught in RPE classes" 65% (HK) and 62% (MC) students disagreed. For question #3, "Students with severe disabilities should be taught in separate classes (APE classes)", 77% (HK) and 85% (MC) agreed. The survey indicated that students from HK and MC thought special school and teachers with special training will provide better education for students with disabilities than general teacher. Survey results also indicated from question #13, "to be prepared to teach students with mild to severe disabilities, it is important that I receive training on activities that includes ideas on lesson planning for a variety of abilities levels", that 95.5% students from both HK and MC agreed and strong agreed on "need more academic preparation" for inclusion. There were no significant difference between 4th year students and in-service teachers on these items. Other results indicated that, in addition to government policies, attitudes and lack of special education training for current teachers

The integration of children with disabilities in mainstream early childhood settings is a common practice in many developed and developing countries world-wide. A number of key points have been raised concerning such integration, including the increased attention to civil education about the rights of persons with disabilities, training for teachers, and close communication between the government and the mainstream schools. This paper presents a qualitative study of these critical issues in the context of integrated early childhood centres in Hong Kong. These centres operate under an integration policy inherited from the British colonial period. This policy lies within the larger philosophical context of Confucianism with its commitment to excellence, which makes for an intensely competitive schooling environment. Thus, the story presented in this paper is a collection of multiple perspectives of parents with and without children with disabilities, teachers, and school principals on the topic of integration. Looking at the bigger picture, we argue that rather than simply inheriting a policy that is prone to bureaucratic machinations, the policy must be adopted and owned within the local settings if it is to work properly. The implications of this study resonate with integrated education in settings that may be very different from the ones described herein.
[Copyright of Educational Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2013.780007]

This paper investigates, using a qualitative approach, barriers to receiving Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among female undergraduate students in a Hong Kong university. By conducting individual semi-structured interviews with 35 young women aged 19 to 23, seven intertwining perceptual, social and cultural, healthcare provider and financial barriers were identified. These barriers included the perception as being low-risk due to an absence of sexual contact, lack of confidence in the safety of the vaccine, suspicion of parents concerning the intention to get vaccinated, lack of positive discussion among peers, insufficient information from primary-care doctors, difficulty in choosing a suitable HPV vaccine and cost of the vaccine. Future HPV-vaccination promotion therefore not only needs to enhance risk perception and needs awareness of young women, but also educate parents and correct their misconceptions. As primary care doctors are the first line of contact with patients, providing more support to enhance their knowledge of the HPV vaccine and to encourage their enthusiasm in providing responsive disease-prevention education can motivate young women to get vaccinated.
[Copyright of Culture, Health and Sexuality is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2013.807518]

From 1997 onward, integrated education has been developing rapidly in Hong Kong. Since then, many students with physical disability (PD) were integrated into mainstream schools. In catering for the special needs of students with PD, many mainstream schools had taken steps to improve physical accessibility. However, it was generally agreed that students' needs on other aspects, such as on peer interaction and learning, were less attended to. The present study investigated the quality of school life (QSL) in students with PD in mainstream schools. The QSL model proposed by Williams and Batten (1981) was adopted. Qualitative research method was chosen. Four students who were / had been studying in mainstream schools were interviewed. The interview was in a semi-structured format. Pre-designed questions concerning the following domains of school life, including general satisfaction, teacher-student relations, social integration, opportunity, achievement and status were asked. The questions were designed based on the QSL model of Williams and Batten (1981). Data obtained was transcribed, coded, and summarized. Summaries of the four interviews were provided. Further analysis was then carried out to identify key themes and concepts from the transcriptions. Through the analysis, it was found that the participants were satisfied with their school life in general. Among the important domains mentioned in Williams and Batten's QSL model, the participants were positive towards the domains of achievement (i.e. academic results) and opportunity (i.e. relevancy of the curriculum). In the domain of social integration which focused on interaction with peers, the participants had varying experiences. Two of the participants were satisfied with their relationship with peers while the other two experienced bUllying by their non-disabled peers. Even among students who regarded their interaction with peers as satisfactory, factors that negatively affected friendship development were identified