Inclusion Or Illusion: The Romance and Reality Of Integrating Students With Special Education Needs In Hong Kong

Integrating students with special education needs (SEN) into ordinary schools is a widespread movement towards “Education for All” in many developed countries. In principle, a shift from allowing students with disabilities to be educated in segregated special schools to providing them with opportunities to be educated in ordinary schools is justified on educational and normative grounds. Following the proclamation of the Salamanca Statement as advocated by the United Nations, the Hong Kong Government initiated a pilot project in 1997, and promoted a whole school approach to integrated education in full scale starting from 2004. Despites its goodwill on the part of the Government, many difficulties and problems have arisen along the moves towards greater inclusion in the Hong Kong education system. For example, the practices of integration education are under criticism as many students with SEN are not properly cared or taught, and some are even bullied by fellow students. Provision of sufficient resources and support to ordinary schools or teachers is another matter of grave concern. Teachers also face with problems in maintaining classroom discipline and ambivalence in meeting the competing demands of academic excellence on the one hand and equality and inclusion on the other. Inclusive education is one of the most controversial education policies in Hong Kong. The progress of inclusion will be examined in the dimensions of access (the extent to which students with SEN attending mainstream classes); acceptance (the extent to which all students are treated as full school members); participation (the extent to which all students contribute actively in school’s activities) and achievement in terms of academic, social and emotional development. Values dilemmas and paradoxes resulted from the integrated education measures will be examined with a focus on accommodating diversity, quality, equity and fairness, as well as reducing or enhancing social inequality.