This paper aims to review the provision of special education and the need of Integration/ Inclusive Education [I/IE] in the Hong Kong context. The paper begins with the definition of relevant terms and follows it with a brief review of the existing provision of the segregated schooling in Hong Kong. Some preliminary comments on the "Pilot Project on Integration of Children with Special Needs in Ordinary Schools" and experiences from overseas on implementing Integration/ Inclusive Education will be given at the end of the paper.
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The Hong Kong government introduced a scheme to include students with disabilities into mainstream schools in 1997. This can be seen as the beginning of the "inclusion movement". The main problems of inclusion are its "one size fits all" philosophy and the belief that "the least restrictive environment" is exclusively the regular classroom. There are four major obstacles to implementing full inclusion in Hong Kong. (1) The existing teacher to student ratio is already unacceptably high. Putting disabled students into regular classrooms without decreasing the class size will burn-out teachers, without any obvious benefit to the disabled students. (2) Most teachers do not have any training to deal with disabled students. Without a qualified teacher, disabled students are unlikely to be receiving high-quality educational services. (3) Disabled students are put into classes with lower academic performance, a practice which presently compromises the learning potential of all students involved. (4) Hong Kong teachers in general education have inadequate experience in collaborating with other professionals so that providing teacher assistants to deal with special needs students may not be as helpful as it appears. In summary, full inclusion may not be the only answer. It should be recognised that disabled students have their own special needs which the regular classrooms may not be able to meet.
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The purpose of the present study was to explore, from an insider perspective, the work experience of local special school personnel. A qualitative methodological approach was taken and a semi-structured interviewing technique was adopted. An opportunity sample of five Principals, six teachers and three school social workers from six local special schools for students with mild mental handicap participated in this study. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method and content analysis. The findings seem to suggest that the special school teachers in this study faced the dilemma of having competing roles within the school and that they could function as either caregiver or an educator. The two most pronounced themes that emerged from the data are that the local special school personnel in this study appeared to be isolated in terms of feedback and support and the five Principals were regarded as the only leaders to provide directions for the development of their schools. The results therefore demonstrate the need to develop intra- and inter-school support networks for local special school personnel to become more responsive to the needs of the classroom community. A number of recommendations for improvement in teacher education and in-service training are also discussed.
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Previous studies have suggested that placing students in ability groups for teaching purposes can have negative consequences on the self-esteem and motivation of the students placed in the lowest groups. The study reported here explored this phenomenon in relation to students in a Band 4-5 secondary school in Hong Kong. A self-report questionnaire, with items covering classroom motivation and attitude, was used to elicit responses from 212 students in the first and second year. The students were from three different ability groups, ranging from high ability (relative to a Band 4-5 school) to low ability. Results indicated significant differences between the mean scores for students in the highest and lowest ability groups in seven out of twenty items in the questioonaire. In general the findings indicate a less optimistic attitude and a reduced level of motivation in students from the lowest group. Research evidence has also suggested that ability grouping can have a negative impact on teachers' motivation and expectancy in relation to the lowest-ability groups. This study explored the expectancies, beliefs and attitudes of 25 teachers who work with the students identified above. It was found that the teachers typically held more negative views of low-ability classes. The article includes discussion of the implications of these findings in terms of modifying teachers' attitudes and improving the learning opportunities for low-ability secondary students.
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This paper recognizes the pressures to teachers in the broader climate of educational reform, and asserts that rich opportunities of professional learning are situated in challenges and critical incidents. By drawing data from experienced teacher, this paper elucidates teachers' guilt and resolution with a framework for promoting a culture of personal growth and professional development. The paper concludes by highlighting the creative energy inside teachers who can team up as networks of learners. When sharing deeply the minds and the hearts, they can re-discover deep values in realities of everyday life in a journey of life-long learning together.
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School-based learning community is widely supported by educators as an effective professional development strategy to improve teaching and learning. With reference to the collaborative and supportive features, the professional learning communities (PLCs) are further recognized in schools. Teachers in different schools work collaboratively to solve the actual problems that they come across in their classrooms and improve their teaching practice. With the support of school teachers, education officers and tertiary academics, PLCs was widely adopted as a strategy to enhance teacher professional learning. The tripartite partnership offers a platform for teachers to actively engage in professional sharing about teaching and learning. The paper illustrates the outcome of the lesson study in a two-year project of University-School Support Program (USP). It is evident that the Lesson Study was an effective collaborative mode of professional development for teachers of special schools in Hong Kong.
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The aim of the programme was to deliver a field-based mode of training for teachers in special schools and to set up a school cluster system for teachers to have a platform for an interactive exchange of ideas, resources, services, and expertise among different schools that mutually addressed the needs of children with special needs. During the training period, lectures, observation of demonstrations and cross-site visitations were held. From 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009, a number of 12 school clusters were organized. Members in a school cluster included lecturers from the institute of education, specialist professionals of the supporting schools and teachers of participating schools. A total of four insittute lecturers and 26 school teachers participated in this programme as trainers. The number of trainees was 101. The responses from participants of supporting and participating schools were very positive. They believed that this mode could enhance the application of new teaching techniques into their own classroom or school settings.
[Copyright © 2010 The Special Education Society of Hong Kong Ltd.]

In this article, the Erasmus Mundus programme in Special Education Needs, with the financial support from the European Commission, run in Europe from 2005-2010, is reported. The discussion will focus especially on the learning in the field of collaborative skills and attitudes that have occurred in the programme. With reference to the feedback of the participants, the features such as practices of internationalization, multicultural understanding, collaboration in learning and reflection in professional practice are significantly noted. In comparison, these insights may exert far-reaching impact to course planning of professional development in special needs at different levels in Hong Kong.
[Copyright © 2011 The Special Education Society of Hong Kong Ltd.]

This article briefly examined the development and reforms of education for students with disabilities worldwide in the last 50 years and that of Hong Kong in the last 3 decades. It addressed the significant progress seen in Hong Kong and called for the need to install systems of transition planning and post-secondary support services that are currently absent in Hong Kong. Benefits of having these systems were discussed, drawing overseas examples in countries such as the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia where students with disabilities participate in and are accommodated at all levels of education. It was emphasized that the massive education reforms aiming at transforming the entire education system into a flexible system to accommodate diverse learners and promote lifelong learning for all would have been a perfect platform to address such gaps and issues. The conclusion of the paper calls for discourse and collaboration among relevant stakeholders toward a more inclusive and holistic reform.
[Copyright © 2009 The Hong Kong Special Education Society.]