Survey Shows Nearly 90% of Teachers Concerned About Insufficient Resources for Inclusive Education
RTHK · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A joint survey conducted by the Education University of Hong Kong's Department of Early Childhood Education and the Council for Non-Profit Making Organizations for Pre-Primary Education has found that nearly 90% of surveyed teachers are concerned about insufficient resources for implementing inclusive education, making it difficult to cater to the needs of all young children . The Social Welfare Department is currently piloting a school-based support model for pre-primary rehabilitation services, which includes a 1-to-6 teacher-student ratio with designated special child care workers providing individual and group training . Researchers recommend that authorities synchronously review staffing arrangements, service volume standards, and in-school support when rolling out the new model to prevent additional workloads from concentrating on frontline teachers .
Key Points
- Survey collected 459 valid questionnaires in March and conducted in-depth interviews with 27 staff from 9 of the 12 pilot kindergartens
- Only about 17% of surveyed teachers believe current teacher-student ratios are sufficient for effective inclusive education implementation
- Over 85% of teachers cited pressure from increased workload, difficulty distributing attention, and lack of support staff
- The school-based support model assigns specialized rehabilitation workers and cross-professional teams to provide targeted assistance
- Liu Yihong, Acting Department Head of Early Childhood Education at EdUHK, noted teachers have accumulated inclusive education experience but still need more support in classroom adjustments and behavior support
Why It Matters
The findings highlight a critical gap between policy aspirations and frontline realities in Hong Kong's inclusive education system, where teachers are being asked to support children with diverse needs without adequate resources . With the school-based support model still in its pilot phase, the outcomes of this survey could inform broader policy changes affecting thousands of young children with special educational needs across the territory .
The findings highlight a critical gap between policy aspirations and frontline realities in Hong Kong's inclusive education system, where teachers are being asked to support children with diverse needs without adequate resources . With the school-based support model still in its pilot phase, the outcomes of this survey could inform broader policy changes affecting thousands of young children with special educational needs across the territory .