Purpose: The study evaluated the effectiveness of a training program for social workers to reduce their negative perceptions on children with special education needs (SEN), enhance their self-efficacy for inclusive practice, and promote their competencies in helping these children in Hong Kong. Method: A prospective quasi-experimental design was adopted in the evaluation, with 58 social workers (74% females) joining the program (the intervention group) and 39 (56.4% females) who did not join the program (the control group). Results: Participants of the intervention group showed a significant decrease in negative perceptions towards children with SEN and an increase of self-efficacy for inclusive practice and competencies after participating in the program when compared with the control group. Discussion: The study provides encouraging evidence on the effectiveness of a training program for promoting social workers' self-efficacy and competencies for inclusive practice, which is essential for social work intervention for children with SEN. Copyright © 2022 SAGE Publications.

To investigate music teachers' perceptions and concerns in fostering music creativity of students with intellectual disabilities, findings are presented from a study of nine music teachers purposely sampled from across all three categories (mild, medium, severe) of Hong Kong's special school for students with intellectual disabilities. Personal profiles identify respondents' displaying three professional knowledge gaps -- music expertise, special-education training and prior experience of being taught 'creativity'. Findings also indicate that respondents add to the creativity literature: first by supplementing Hargreaves' 2012. "Musical Imagination: Perception and Production, Beauty and Creativity." "Psychology of Music" 40 (5): 539-557] 'process' to include 'music making' and 'body movement', and second, that music creativity may be described as a spectrum that embraces various forms of expressions. Copyright © 2022 Routledge.

Unprecedented developments in communication and technology have resulted in numerous opportunities for personal and professional contact. The emerging trend of actual and virtual spaces for professional engagement demands that younger generations be equipped with values and skills that govern their everyday interactions with people from diverse backgrounds. Although determining the role of education in preparing future generations should be straightforward, devising inclusive education and supporting students with diverse educational needs in schools is demanding. This chapter investigates the intersection of inclusive education, soft skills and hard values and situates the discussion in the educational context of Hong Kong. It identifies the issues and challenges of inclusion in Hong Kong’s education system and underscores the lack of focus on soft skills and values in education. It then proposes ways to cultivate soft skills and values among students and teachers to promote inclusive education in the city. In addition, this chapter highlights possible ways that schools can prepare students with special educational needs for a competitive working environment and offer equal learning opportunities for all students. Copyright © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J. Kennedy, Margarita Pavlova and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

In this chapter, the authors use a policy and program perspective to explore the specific career development needs of gifted learners in Hong Kong. They first examine recent developments in gifted education and career education policies in Hong Kong, then draw on relevant literature to highlight salient career development needs of gifted learners. Next, consideration is given to possible priority content for career guidance programs for these students, and some existing programs are reviewed. The chapter ends with a summary of the implications for educators, counselors, researchers and policy-makers. Copyright © 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Background: Face-to-face class suspensions during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in 2019 increased telepractice in speech and language therapy. However, little is known about speech and language therapists’ (SLTs) perceived effectiveness of telepractice and its antecedents.Aims: To examine the use of telepractice and the factors affecting its perceived effectiveness in Hong Kong mainstream schools during COVID-19.Methods & Procedures: Seventy-two school-based Hong Kong SLTs completed a 110-item online survey with six structural components: (1) concerns, (2) adoption, (3) student selection criteria, (4) perceived effectiveness, (5) continuous professional development and (6) attitudes/beliefs.Outcomes & Results: Over 90% of respondents adopted telepractice during the pandemic. Confirmatory factor analysis identified reliable constructs from their component measures. These participants reported great telepractice difficulties (especially in therapy preparation and managing students’ attention and/or communication). Mixed-response analysis revealed that psychosocial factors (i.e., students’ engagement and SLTs’ attitudes towards telepractice) but not professional practice skill factors (i.e., student client selection criteria and SLTs’ years of experience in school settings) contributed to SLTs’ self-perceived effectiveness of telepractice.Conclusions & Implications: Our findings suggest that psychosocial factors play a more important role than professional practice skill factors in the self-perceived effectiveness of telepractice. Copyright © 2022 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

This Hong Kong study evaluated a strengths-based career intervention program for junior secondary school students with special educational needs. The treatment group comprised 19 boys and 13 girls with SEN from 5 schools, with an additional 28 SEN students forming the control group matched for age, gender and parents’ education level. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires covering career development self-efficacy, personal and social development, and meaning in life were administered to both groups. Several months after the intervention, participants, teachers and social workers involved were interviewed to evaluate effects of the intervention. Findings indicated significant interactions between Time 1 and Time 2, and between control vs. treatment groups in personal goal-setting, career goal-setting, and presence of meaning in life. Several themes emerged from the interviews suggesting that the intervention had positive effects on SEN students’ career, personal and social development, self-efficacy, and meaning in life. Copyright © 2022 Meaning in Life (MIL) International Conference.

Subject-specific training in mathematics teaching for students with intellectual disabilities (IDs) has been little studied in the academic field and is uncommon in the practice of teacher education. Given that teachers face significant challenges in regard to teaching mathematics to ID students, it is necessary to know whether there is a need for subject-specific training. If yes, what kind of subject-specific training do teachers need? What kind of subject-specific knowledge should be covered? How can this kind of training contribute to improving mathematics teaching for ID students?To answer the above questions, this study focuses on one particular teacher professional development programme (BE MATHS programme) for mathematics teachers who teach ID students in special schools in Hong Kong. Programme effects and the contributing factors of the effects are examined to explore whether and how subjectspecific support can contribute to the profession of teaching mathematics to ID students.The study is conducted via a mixed-methods approach. First, it uses quantitative measures to examine teachers’ changes in mathematics teaching efficacy and students’ changes in their academic engaged time in mathematics classes. Second, a qualitative approach is used to explore the contributing factors of the changes.Quantitative results show that the programme has a significant positive effect on teachers’ mathematics teaching outcome expectancy and a conditional positive effect on teachers’ personal mathematics teaching efficacy. It is also found that the programme can improve teachers’ mathematics teaching by engaging more students in mathematics learning.The qualitative findings in this study show that the design of teaching and learning trajectories with subject experts is a substantial learning activity for teachers. During the design process, teachers and subject experts identified knowledge gaps within the mathematical content to be delivered to ID students and successfully inserted