Contributions from: Thomas Chan Hung-Ki
Abstract
As an international city, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is proud of its high student enrolment rate and achievement in providing basic education and adequate care for all school-age children of all abilities. However, the integration of disabled children into mainstream schools is always harshly criticized, though the limitations in the process of implementation are fully understood. Funded by the Quality Education Fund, a team of teacher educators launched a project on "Making Integration Successful". This project aims to support integration in Hong Kong SAR by developing an innovative, cost-effective and feasible alternative ways of professional development for teachers in regular schools. In the project, the expertise and resource in the Department of Special Education at Hong Kong Institute of Education is utilized to serve the community. The team attempts to develop learning packages, produce audiovisual presentations, set up resource support, conduct in-service teacher training, link up special schools and regular schools with integrators, share successful experience, support schools with integrators and make recommendations for future programmes.
The paper attempts to illustrate how teachers are empowered with the competency in inclusive practices in the project. 60 in-service teachers with different background attended a 60 hours course for inclusive education. The course was planned to promote public understanding of inclusive education as well as develops teachers' expertise in teaching disabled children in their schools. The learning activities include lectures, seminars, visits and field experience. From the evaluation, the findings and experiences have strong implications for teacher education and empowerment in future inclusive practices.
Introduction
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a community that values education and places great emphasis on academic achievement. Although the education system has been described as basically examination-oriented, the community is making great efforts in providing appropriate and immediate education for students with different abilities. This is highly associated with the Confucian thought that education should stress "learning for all". It addresses the recognition of individual differences and meeting all students' learning needs. Policy makers and school educators in Hong Kong all uphold this mission (Health and Welfare branch, 1996; Crawford, 1995, 1998; Poon, 1999; Kwong, 1999). The advocates of integration highlight the recent paradigm change of educational philosophy in providing universal education. It focuses on the recognition, acceptance and support of children with diversified needs in an inclusive environment (Putnam, 1998; Salend, 1998; UNESCO, 1994; Schmidt & Harriman, 1998). This international trend brings about impact and challenges to the teaching profession, particularly to teachers' attitude and competency as well as organizational changes. The least restrictive environment is assumed to be most beneficial to the overall growth of the disabled children. The educational needs, learning support and placement to special needs children in mainstream schools have been well addressed in many local reports and documents in Hong Kong (Board of Education, 1996; Education Commission, 1990).
Integration in Hong Kong
As an international city, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is proud of its high student enrolment rate and achievement in providing basic education and adequate care for all school-age children of all abilities. The primary goal of education is to offer equal opportunity to all children (Education and Manpower Branch, 1993). However, the development of integration in these 20 years greatly lags behind the international trend. The integration of disabled children into mainstream schools is always harshly criticized, though the limitations in the process of implementation are fully understood (Crawford, 1995, 1998; Crawford & et al, 1999). In 1997, the Education Department launched the pilot scheme on integration of disabled children in mainstream schools. With the support of the professionals, schools and tertiary institutions, the government offers advice and financial support to these pilot schools as well as hire expertise to conduct school-based staff training and evaluation (Education Department, 1999).
The "MIS" project
Funded by the Quality Education Fund in 1999, a team of teacher educators launched a project on "Making Integration Successful". This project aimed to support integration in Hong Kong SAR by developing an innovative, cost-effective and feasible alternative ways of professional development for teachers in regular schools. In the project, the expertise and resource in the Department of Special Education at Hong Kong Institute of Education had been utilized to serve the community. The team attempted to develop learning packages, produce audio-visual presentations, set up resource support, conduct in-service teacher training, link up special schools and regular schools with integrators, share successful experience, support schools with integrators and make recommendations for future programs.
The planning of a teacher training course
As one of the mission of the project, the team organized the first 60-hour training course for 62 in-service teachers in the period from April to July in 2000 at Hong Kong Institute of Education. In the meetings of course planning, the committee designed the curriculum with emphasis on theories, practices and professional collaboration (Table 1).
Table 1: Curriculum of the 60-hours teacher training course
| Areas | Contents |
| Theoretical foundation | Basic concepts in special needs and inclusive educationParadigm shift and the principles of inclusive educationInclusive education policy in Hong Kong and its developmentIndividual differences and types of special needs |
| Classroom teaching | Educational assessment of multiple intelligence Strategies and skills for teaching students with special needs Behavioral managementCurriculum adaptationCooperative learning and teaching Application of information technology |
| Outside the classroom | Whole school approachPartnership with parents Consultation and collaboration with other professionalsResources in the communityInclusive education and inclusive society |
Booth & et al (2000) highlights the significance in supporting schools in a process of inclusive school development. It is likely to be achieved through creating inclusive cultures, producing inclusive policies and evolving inclusive practices. Considering the teachers with hands-on experience, professional commitment and personal encounters, the approach of teaching and learning should be of a good variety. It included lectures, workshops, tutorials, seminars, report-back session, experience sharing, day camp, board display and presentations. As time was limited, the course planning team integrated the curriculum contents into different themes for the 20 three-hour sessions. The themes were as follows:
| 1. | Aims and objectives of the project |
| 2. | Basic concepts in special needs and inclusive education |
| 3. | Inclusive education policy in Hong Kong and its development |
| 4. | Paradigm shift and principles of inclusive education |
| 5. | Curriculum adaptation |
| 6. | Meeting the disabled persons in a day camp |
| 7. | Understanding disable students in a day camp |
| 8. | Behavioral management |
| 9. | Strategies and skills for teaching students with special needs |
| 10. | Multiple abilities and educational assessment |
| 11. | Working with parents |
| 12. | Listen what parents say |
| 13. | Inclusive education and inclusive society |
| 14. | Learning in action (Conference on Action Research by special education teachers) |
| 15. | Information technology and educational resources |
| 16. | Cooperative learning and teaching |
| 17. | Experience sharing by principals and teachers in integration schools |
| 18. | Teaching children with sensory impairments |
| 19. | Teaching children with autism |
| 20. | Concluding seminar and reflective presentations |
The arrangement of the curriculum contents into themes facilitated the integration of teaching and learning. Unlike other taught courses, the course focused on experience sharing and individual reflection. The themes allowed flexible mode of delivery and helped participants develop global and reflective thinking from different perspectives. This integrated approach equipped participants with the necessary knowledge and skills in problem solving in the process of inclusive school development. They not only understood the theoretical assumptions in inclusive education but also developed confidence and competency in supporting inclusive practice. For certification, the participants should achieve at least 80% of attendance rate as well as complete satisfactorily an individual reflective assignment.
Student enrolment
The first enrolment was satisfactory with over 100 applications from Hong Kong schools. Totally, 62 teachers (Male=19; Female=43) with different background (Primary=47; Secondary=8; Special school=7) and professional demands (Trained=57; Untrained=5) were finally selected. They were teachers of special schools, resource teachers of integrators (N=13) and teachers of regular classes or resource classes. From the statistics, 28 teachers were teaching in schools for the integrators. Some were school principal (N=1) and teaching assistant (N=1). Some (N=19), with special education training and handful experiences in teaching disabled children, also attended the course for supporting the inclusive practice.
Evaluation from course participants
In the course evaluation, the participants shared their views on course objectives, curriculum contents and arrangements. In general, their feedback was found to be mostly favorable, if the large percentage of responses lying towards to the favorable end of the scale was considered. From the statistics, all the course objectives had been achieved. Participants were satisfied with the course contents, mode of delivery, opportunities of involvement, course materials, assignment and arrangement (Table 2).
Table 2: Summary of the course evaluation
| SD | D | SWD | SWA | A | SA | |
| Course Objectives | ||||||
| It provides me an opportunity to explore the inclusive education | 0% | 0% | 6% | 6% | 38% | 44% |
| It helps me understand different kind of special needs | 0% | 0% | 13% | 13% | 44% | 30% |
| It helps me to rethink my beliefs and attitude in inclusive education | 0% | 0% | 0% | 38% | 24% | 38% |
| It enhances my skills and strategies in teaching SEN children | 0% | 6% | 6% | 56% | 19% | 13% |
| After the course, I am confident to teach SEN students in schools | 6% | 6% | 6% | 56% | 6% | 13% |
| Course arrangement | ||||||
| The course contents are well organised and well structured. | 0% | 0% | 6% | 44% | 38% | 12% |
| The mode of delivery (e.g. lectures and day camp) is appropriate | 0% | 0% | 6% | 44% | 38% | 12% |
| Participants have appropriate involvement during lectures. | 0% | 0% | 6% | 19% | 56% | 19% |
| The course material is disseminated during the lectures are helpful | 0% | 0% | 0% | 38% | 50% | 12% |
| The assignment required is appropriate | 6% | 6% | 6% | 19% | 44% | 19% |
| The lecture venues are appropriate | 12% | 19% | 13% | 31% | 19% | 6% |
| The lecture time is appropriate | 6% | 0% | 31% | 44% | 19% | 0% |
| Course objectives achieved | ||||||
| Aims and objectives of the project | 0% | 6% | 0% | 19% | 50% | 19% |
| Basic concepts in special needs and inclusive education | 6% | 0% | 0% | 25% | 44% | 19% |
| Inclusive education policy in Hong Kong and its development | 0% | 0% | 0% | 13% | 63% | 13% |
| Paradigm shift and principles of inclusive education | 0% | 0% | 0% | 50% | 31% | 6% |
| Curriculum adaptation. | 0% | 0% | 19% | 31% | 25% | 6% |
| Experiencing special needs (Day Camp) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 44% | 38% |
| Behavioral management | 0% | 0% | 19% | 25% | 31% | 13% |
| Strategies and skills for teaching students with special needs | 0% | 0% | 6% | 25% | 31% | 31% |
| Working with parents | 0% | 0% | 6% | 0% | 69% | 25% |
| Teaching children with autism | 0% | 0% | 6% | 13% | 31% | 50% |
| Listen to what parents say | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 31% | 44% |
| Inclusive education and inclusive society | 0% | 0% | 6% | 50% | 31% | 6% |
| Learning in Action | 0% | 0% | 0% | 31% | 38% | 6% |
| IT and educational resources | 0% | 0% | 13% | 19% | 50% | 6% |
| Cooperative learning and teaching | 0% | 6% | 6% | 44% | 25% | 13% |
| Experience sharing with principals and teachers of integrators | 0% | 0% | 0% | 19% | 50% | 31% |
| Teaching children with sensory impairments | 0% | 0% | 6% | 6% | 38% | 44% |
| Multiple abilities and educational Assessment | 0% | 0% | 6% | 6% | 44% | 13% |
| Concluding seminar and reflective presentations. | 0% | 0% | 0% | 13% | 50% | 19% |
| Remark: | SD: strongly disagree; | D: disagree; | SWD: somewhat disagree; |
| SA: strongly agree; | A: agree; | SWA: somewhat agree |
In their written evaluation, the participants highlighted what they treasured in the course. To conclude, they were able to understand the characteristics of disabled children, their needs and difficulties encountered as well as those usual strategies in teaching disabled children. They indicated a high recognition in the opportunities of interactive discussion and experience sharing, particularly those hands-on experiences of implementing inclusive education. They were able to meet the field workers and share with them in the inclusive practice. The course was comprehensive with theories and experience from frontline workers and lecturers. Participants found learning fruitful and helpful. One participant remarked that as the course prepared teachers for inclusive education, all teachers should take this course. They expected that the course could be further developed to a one-year diploma course with in-depth study on the topic. Some major impacts of the course were summarized as follows:
"It provides me an opportunity to explore the theoretical basis of inclusive education." "It helps me understand different kinds of special needs." "It helps me to rethink my beliefs and develop appropriate attitude in inclusive education." "It enables me to master the skills and strategies in teaching children with special needs." "After the course, I am confident to teach special needs students in mainstream schools."
Evaluation from advisors
For quality assurance, the project was regularly monitored by a team of advisors, who were heads of schools supporting the inclusive practices in the community. As frontline workers, some principals stated the essence of collaboration and team work in achieving successful inclusive practices.
"Integration is a new but controversial topic in Hong Kong. As there is a widespread support of integration, frontline teachers and teacher training personnel should step up the study on the feasibility and the implementation issues of inclusive education. They should also strengthen the communication with policy-makers so that the children with special educational needs could truly benefit. Integration will finally be realized." (A principal of a primary school for social development)
"The school-based team is very important. The schools probably need to rethink its structure and practices at fostering an "inclusive" culture at school. (A principal of skills opportunity school)
In the concluding session of the course, four advisors attended and shared the successful outcome of the book exhibition, board display, research work, drama show, computer accessories demonstration and reflection activities. The course program, particularly the involvement and presentation of the participants, remarkably impressed the advisors in the following ways:
"I am deeply touched by the sharing of the course participants at the concluding session. It is evident that there is not short of enthusiastic workers in the education field. I look forward to similar courses in the future. The knowledge and support of front-line teachers and their implementation of integration practice are essential for successful integration in education." (A school principal of school with moderately mentally handicapped children)
"I am deeply impressed by the enthusiastic involvement of the lecturers and the participants. I am also satisfied with the arrangements of the course after studying the course materials." (A principal of a primary school for social development)
With reference to the course objectives and curriculum contents, their favorable and supportive views highlighted the significance of the course planning in meeting the needs of the teachers.
"The curriculum of the course is comprehensive and multi-faceted. It caters for the needs of schools and professionals with different backgrounds. Participants are able to share their experience and insights with each other. Whether the outcome is successful or not, the experience hence shared is invaluable." (A principal of skills opportunity school)
"The course is very comprehensive in contents. It introduces the basic knowledge of special education to the participants. It also offers practical skills in teaching the disabled children. The mission of integration, the classroom practice and the integration into the society should all be substantiated by adequate knowledge." (A principal of school with severely mentally handicapped children)
"The course promotes teachers' knowledge in integration systematically. It also provides practical strategies for front-line teachers. The enrolment of teachers from both special schools and mainstream schools has enhanced the professional exchange of knowledge and experience." (A principal of School with moderately mentally handicapped children)
The significance and impact of the course was further supported in the concluding remark of an advisor in her evaluation.
"The course has led the course participants to a new horizon in the exploration of teaching and learning. The participants expressed gratitude to the lecturers in the course. It is a successful training course as the responses from the participants are very good."
"Teachers are essential elements in the inclusive practice as they work at the front-line. After the course, they can help fostering a sense of identity among students, supporting school head in inclusive practice, encouraging the disabled children and be the channel of communication between children and their parents." (A principal of school with severely mentally handicapped children)
Teacher empowerment
In the light of the first teacher training course (60-hour) with specific objectives on inclusive education, the course team treasured the experiences gained in the planning process. With reference to teacher empowerment, some significant orientations had been concluded in the reviewing process.
1. Processes of changes in the development
In planning a training course on inclusive education, the course team attempted to outline the boundary of teaching and learning within the limited time. With reference to the literature and recent development, the team finally defined the scope of curriculum and integrated themes that were derived from the multidimensional changes. These included the process of contextual changes in policy, organization, values, resources, pedagogy and curriculum. These representations, as a clear framework, become the significant guides and bodies of knowledge in teacher empowerment.
2. Addressing special needs
The ways in addressing the special needs used by the teachers were sometimes found to be obscure and limited. From course teaching and group discussion, their frustration and psychological disturbance in supporting the disabled children had been observed. Hence, those proficiency in the areas of classroom diagnosis, education assessment, teaching strategies, curriculum adaptation, individual education program, peer support, motivation and behavior management became their key learning elements across the themes. In the light of teaching empowerment, the strategies and specific skills learnt ensure the competency and confidence in addressing the special needs of students with a disability (Bauer & Shea, 1999; Meyen & et. al., 1996).
3. Heterogeneous background of the participants
The participants consisted of teachers from different schools. Teachers from special schools were successfully mobilized in sharing their expertise and encounters in some experience sharing sessions (Doyle, 1997). The heterogeneous experience enabled successful sharing and learning in a class with large number (N=62) and different professional demands. Also, it facilitated the critical inquiry within the group. In many tutorial discussion and group presentations, the outcome was fruitful and productive. The learning of those non-experienced teachers was always enhanced effectively by their experienced peers, rather than by the speakers.
4. Professional development during the process
The involvement of professionals, parents and students proved the success of teacher empowerment, particularly in terms of understanding and attitude enhancement. In the course, the speakers were not only the lecturers from Department of Special Education, who presented talks and workshops on their specialization, but also other professionals in the field, who were able to share their work or encounters in the process of integration. For example, regarding the government policy and determination, the officer from Education Department reported the development of integration in Hong Kong and the current support to schools with integrators. Principals, teachers and teaching assistants shared their successful experience in catering for the diversified needs of integrators in their school. Skills in meeting parents were shared in a workshop run by an expert in family therapy. Led by a social worker, the discussion with the parents of integrators and teachers enhanced mutual understanding. Some persons with a disability were invited to share their encounters and success. A day camp with students with a disability also widened the horizon of the participants. Advocates of inclusive education voiced out their work in struggling for an inclusive society. The talk of the educational psychologist and the drama show of disable persons enlightened the participants with the potential multiple intelligence of the integrators.
The involvement of different parties increases understanding and interactive commitment. This kind of empowerment benefits the participants and also inspires the course team with lots of hands-on experience and practical ideas in the process of professional development.
5. The Accept and Support models
During the course, the hurdles in inclusive education have been well noted by the participants in the group discussion. These challenges have been summarized as the Attitude, Curriculum, Community, Environment, Pedagogy and Training (ACCEPT). For effective inclusive practices, it was agreed to the changes in Strategies, Understanding, Pedagogy, Peer & parents, Organization, Resource and Training (SUPPORT) in the process of development. These two models provide clear lines of thought for overcoming the hurdles and making changes to meet the contextual needs. The conceptual framework has strong implications in teacher empowerment.
Conclusion
Kennedy (1990) states two strategies on how professional education influences practice. On the one hand, it has to provide participants with as much as knowledge and understanding as possible to enable them to face any situation they might meet. On the other hand, it provides them with reasoning skills to enable them to adapt to the widest possible range of situations. It is a great task for the team to achieve the two goals simultaneously within the limited time.
However, Howey (1996) clarifies that the two orientations to professional preparation are not mutually exclusive. It is necessary is to bridge these orientations for participants. Critically inquiry and reasoned judgment should be based on a sound knowledge base of the discipline.
It is a great challenge to the team to run a 60-hour course for a large group of in-service teachers with different professional demands. As a funded project, the accountability is high and good quality is expected. Regarding the tight course schedule and heavy full-time workload, participants may have superficial learning in some topics. However, previous professional training, practical experience, reasoning skills and enthusiasm of the participants minimize these inadequacies.
In concluding the achievement, opportunities of exposure and critical inquiry are the special features of the course. The course helps participants understand the multidimensional nature of inclusive education, as well as techniques in addressing the special needs of their students. The outcome also inspires us with the notions in overcoming the challenges (ACCEPT) and making changes (SUPPORT). The success of the course not only equips the participants with the necessary knowledge and skills, but also sets up a framework for future course development. As a seeding effect, the impact is significant and far-reaching, particularly in teacher empowerment during the process of development.
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