The integration of children with disabilities in mainstream early childhood settings is a common practice in many developed and developing countries world-wide. A number of key points have been raised concerning such integration, including the increased attention to civil education about the rights of persons with disabilities, training for teachers, and close communication between the government and the mainstream schools. This paper presents a qualitative study of these critical issues in the context of integrated early childhood centres in Hong Kong. These centres operate under an integration policy inherited from the British colonial period. This policy lies within the larger philosophical context of Confucianism with its commitment to excellence, which makes for an intensely competitive schooling environment. Thus, the story presented in this paper is a collection of multiple perspectives of parents with and without children with disabilities, teachers, and school principals on the topic of integration. Looking at the bigger picture, we argue that rather than simply inheriting a policy that is prone to bureaucratic machinations, the policy must be adopted and owned within the local settings if it is to work properly. The implications of this study resonate with integrated education in settings that may be very different from the ones described herein.
once a British colony, sex has traditionally been viewed as taboo and, as such, seldom talked about or openly discussed in public. As a result, there is reluctance on the part of most pre-to-secondary schools to implement sex education. The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of preschool sex education in Hong Kong. One kindergarten and one childcare centre were selected for this study. Eight preschool teachers were interviewed. The findings indicated that almost all participants lacked the confidence to undertake preschool sex education because they felt that they had inadequate knowledge and skills. Interestingly, the findings showed that the unmarried participants felt embarrassed when talking about sex. Nevertheless, they were willing to take up the responsibilities of the implementation of preschool sex education if they had sufficient training. Although Hong Kong (HK) was a British colony for more than 150 years and most people grew up under the influence of a Western culture, many people still perceive that the topic of sex should not be discussed publicly. This is because the Chinese have traditionally viewed sex as taboo, and as such, it is a subject seldom talked about or openly discussed in public. This deeply ingrained thinking is a major stumbling block to the implementation of sex education in many HK pre-tosecondary schools.
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