The author examined the English language learning difficulties encountered by secondary school students in Hong Kong. The study investigated how 200 students in two schools perceive learning difficulty, followed by how teachers respond to students' difficulties. Sociological factors were found conducive to English language learning difficulties; unfortunately, teachers were unable to effectively deal with the problems.

This paper describes the moves towards greater inclusion in the Hong Kong education system and the problems that have arisen from those moves. It then describes the introduction of an adapted version of the Index for Inclusion, called the Indicators for Inclusion in Hong Kong, in order to stimulate greater progress. As the adapted Hong Kong Indicators for Inclusion are developed in a unique education culture and based on a particular notion of inclusion, it may be of interest to international readers to see the impact of culture differences in shaping the Indicators. Further, the Hong Kong Indicators for Inclusion are connected with school self‐evaluation and performance standards. The interaction between inclusion and school evaluation will be explored. The paper questions the use of the indicator system to drive inclusion in Hong Kong and the assumptions regarding the capacity of schools for self‐review.
[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/10.1080/13603110500430674]

Background noise poses adverse effects on speech sounds and affects student learning, especially for children with developmental disabilities. Sound-field and public address amplification systems can help to solve this problem by amplifying speech sounds relative to background noise. This study surveyed school classrooms for children with special needs, and compared the performance of a sound-field and a portable public address system in classroom environments. Unoccupied room noise levels and reverberation times were measured in eight classrooms at four Hong Kong schools for children with special needs. Speech levels in each classroom were measured under three conditions: without amplification, with public address system amplification, and with sound-field amplification. Speech-to-noise ratios were calculated for each condition. Noise and unamplified speech-to-noise ratio values exceeded recommended acoustic standards in all classrooms. When sound-field and public address amplification systems were installed, speech-to-noise ratios improved considerably. When either amplification system was used, a uniform sound-field resulted. The applicability of both types of amplification system and their relative merits in special education classrooms are discussed.
[Copyright of International Journal of Disability, Development and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10349120600847508]

Fifty Hong Kong Chinese teachers rated the importance of 25 characteristics and 14 competencies for teachers of gifted learners. While all 39 characteristics and competencies were endorsed as important, the characteristics classified as philosophical ideals were rated most important, followed by characteristics related to professional predispositions. Personal attributes were rated least important. Regarding competencies, specific skills related to identifying, teaching, and counseling gifted learners were rated more important than global strategies. While the selection of teachers of gifted learners might proceed with selecting teachers with the desirable characteristics to meet the needs of gifted learners, the present findings indicated that the development of philosophical, professional, and personal characteristics conducive to effective teaching should not be neglected in teacher preparation programs. Further, desirable skills and competencies that teachers require to teach the gifted well could be made the objectives, goals, and outcomes of teacher preparation programs for teachers of gifted learners. It is believed that the development of teacher preparation programs for teachers of gifted learners in Hong Kong and elsewhere might benefit from integrating Chinese thinking with Western empirically supported findings on the characteristics and competencies of teachers of gifted learners.
[Copyright of Roeper Review is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02783190109554098 ]

Purpose: Children with hearing loss who require special school placement may have a wide range of audiometric configurations. Since such children will vary in auditory status their amplification requirements may also be diverse. This study examined the audiological records of 231 children attending four schools for hearing impaired children in Hong Kong to gain an understanding of common audiometric patterns found in the school children and their auditory rehabilitation needs. Method: Data on the children's aetiology of hearing loss, hearing status, tympanometric findings and the electroacoustic characteristics of their hearing aids were obtained. For 424 children's ears considered having essentially sensorineural hearing loss, k-means cluster analysis methods were used to categorize audiometric configuration groups Results: Cluster analysis that indicated that five distinct audiometric configurations could be found among the school children. Different clusters contained children who had differing amplification needs. The study analysed a number of parameters to check fitting outcomes, including average prescribed gain, frequency-specific measured versus prescribed gain, prescribed frequency response, measured versus prescribed frequency response and the predicted aided thresholds for the children. Conclusion: The amplification needs associated with these five configurations, including recommended prescription gain, maximum power output and possible signal processing strategies, were considered. The clustering algorithm approach proved useful as a means of grouping distinctive audiometric profiles.
[Copyright of Disability and Rehabilitation is the property of Informa Healthcare . Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638280210148602]

Ninety university undergraduate students were tested on a number of tasks assessing their recognition of possible and impossible figures, mental rotation, ideational fluency, and self-report artistic and creative characteristics. Scores on the Impossible Figures Task (IFT-14) and the Mental Rotation Test, and self-ratings on the Artistic Characteristics Rating Scale were found to differentiate among Fine Arts students, Architecture students, and students from Arts Faculty disciplines less related to visual-spatial abilities, suggesting that the IFT-14 could be used to assess visual-spatial or visual arts talents. The application of the IFT-14 with the same related measures to a sample of 103 primary and secondary gifted students provided further supporting evidence. Implications of the findings on the development of more sensitive measures for identifying students with visual-spatial or visual arts talents are discussed.
[Copyright of High Ability Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598130802504296]