Learning Diversity in the Chinese Classroom: Contexts and Practice for Students with Special Needs

12 - Developing Inclusive Schools in Hong Kong

12 Developing Inclusive Schools in Hong Kong Chris R. DOWSON This chapter describes the experiences of four Hong Kong schools which underwent integration. Good practices, classroom strategies and the roles of stakeholders are described and the chapter concludes with current and future trends. A number of recommendations are made, centering on: • The role of government; • The success of a whole-school approach; • Modes of teaching; • The need for professional education for teachers and support staff; and • The role of social interactions and supportive family involvement. Introduction This chapter reports case studies of four Hong Kong schools progressing toward inclusion; see Dowson et al (2003). The study was an important affirmation of the positive effects on schools that undertake a move toward inclusion, as they increasingly achieve quality education for all students. The findings gave strong support for the implementation of inclusion in Hong Kong schools. At the time of the study, schools taking up inclusion were referred to as “integrating” schools and the results helped to define good practice, problem areas and, most important, how the problems may be overcome. Schools were able to get extra funding by enrolling students with disabilities, although some had a history of accepting these students as part of their philosophy. 400 Chris R. DOWSON Invitation letters were sent to all integrated schools (forty-four in number) and three primary schools and one secondary school were selected to give a range of government and government-aided schools. At the time of selection, most integrated schools were in the primary sector. The four schools chosen expressed a willingness to be part of the study. In addition, integrated schools were chosen so as to encompass, as far as possible, a representative range of students with disabilities. The features of the four schools involved in the study are shown in Table 12.1. Table 12.1 Summary of the four case schools School School features School A Primary Government Morning school School B Primary Government Morning school School C Primary Government-aided Whole-day school School D Secondary Government-aided Whole-day school The four schools were examined to help understand how co-teaching/ cooperative teaching enabled students with and without disabilities to learn together and how they interacted in inclusive school settings. It also investigated the involvement of their families in inclusive settings. Another major consideration was how the whole-school approach was applied to and facilitated inclusion in schools. Finally, the schools were studied to determine the educational needs of school personnel working in an inclusive setting. The experiences described by these schools can serve as models for the development of inclusion through the whole-school approach, in schools with other Confucian-heritage cultures (CHC) such as China, Singapore and elsewhere. This chapter describes the scope of the study, significant elements of inclusion which emerged from it, the implementation of the whole-school approach, the educational needs of teachers, good practices for implementing inclusion and the conclusions and recommendations of the study. The Scope of the Study The three primary schools and one secondary school involved in the study included students with a range of disabilities, including hearing impairment, autism with average intelligence, mild grade intellectual disability and physical handicap (see Table 12.2). Developing Inclusive Schools in Hong Kong 401 The research team studied the school background and implementation of inclusive education (i.e., the preparation stage, emergent stage and initial concerns) for one year. In analyzing the four schools, a framework based on research questions about co-teaching, student interaction, family involvement, and the role of a wholeschool approach was used, allowing for the emergence of areas that were relevant to the research questions. The schools differed in terms of background and in the way that inclusion was implemented. There were some themes that were common and some unique to the schools, reflecting their different backgrounds. It was interesting to find that the processes of implementation were markedly different for each of the schools. In one case, a “top-down” approach was taken where the staff were simply informed that inclusion would be taking place. Another school took what might be termed a “bottom-up” approach, in which the whole school staff took a year to reach consensus about the change to an inclusive school, involving many consultations and meetings prior to the implementation. Between these two extremes, there were varying degrees of consultation and consensus. Some schools took an emergent approach...