A collaborative, collegial and more cohesive approach to supporting educational reform for inclusion in Hong Kong

Abstract

Together with the many advantages incurred by educational reform there are concomitantly a number of challenges that have to be addressed. In the field of special education there have probably been more changes in the past decade than in any other area of education. In 2006, Hong Kong is undoubtedly at the cusp of major changes which continue to reflect the paradigm shifts occurring internationally. One area of concern for all is the issue of support for learners with special needs. It is clear that as more learners with disabilities are included in regular classes support services are moving relatively quickly from a withdrawal one-on-one intervention model that is no longer viable, to increasingly providing support in class by co-teaching, or even redesigning support so that it is aimed at the teacher rather than the child. Additionally, support services are becoming more sophisticated as parents demand greater attention to the specific needs of their child and as they expect educational systems to provide the most up to date practices. For every child with a special need there are many stakeholders who seek to provide some form of support. This can become quite overwhelming, staccato in its implementation, and demanding in the extreme, thus resulting in a disjointed unworkable approach. This paper will consider how support can be redesigned to provide a more collaborative, collegial and cohesive approach that is manageable within the current transformations that are occurring in Hong Kong.

Developing and implementing quality inclusive education in Hong Kong: implications for teacher education

“…A significant development throughout the Asia‐Pacific has been the increased awareness of governments that they need to reconsider educational opportunities for children with SEN who, in many instances, have, hitherto, been educated in segregated facilities (Forlin, 2007a). Hong Kong as a signature to many of the international declarations that promote non‐discrimination and inclusion has similarly begun to move towards a more inclusive WSA to education.…”

A system-wide professional learning approach about inclusion for teachers in Hong Kong

“…While some argue that existing studies of teacher attitudes and inclusion might in themselves do harm through the pathologisation of some children (Slee, 2011), such studies are in our view justified in that they might reflect the reality of practice in schools and such understandings of teacher views are important if those views, where negative, are to be challenged. One thing that is clear is that previous research indicates that if educators hold negative attitudes then educational reforms such as inclusive education are unlikely to meet with success (Avramidis, Bayliss, & Burden, 2000;Beacham & Rouse, 2012;Forlin, 2007;Sharma et al, 2007;Treder, Morse, & Ferron, 2000).…”

Effects of job-embedded professional development on inclusion of students with disabilities in content area classrooms: results of a three-year study

“…While traditional models of in-class support have included resource programmes (Forlin, 2007) and one-on-one student assistance from a paraprofessional (Giangreco, Broer, and Edelman 2001), our model focused upon collaboration and coteaching with another certified professional (Friend 2010;Villa, Thousand, and Nevin 2008).…”