Structural Validity of the International Survey of School Counselor’s Activities (ISSCA) When Applied with Counseling and Guidance Personnel in Primary Schools in Hong Kong

This paper reports results of a recent exploratory study using the International Survey of School Counselor’s Activities with two separate but equivalent samples of guidance professionals from primary schools in Hong Kong. An exploratory factor analysis using data from one sample (n = 76) identified 7 factors representing guidance and counseling roles: counseling services; practice improvement; services to parents; prevention programs; advocacy and systemic improvement; educational and career planning; and, discipline and administration. Confirmatory factor analysis using data from the second sample (n = 76) supported this 7-factor solution. A previous international study involving school-based counselors from 10 countries had identified five underlying dimensions to the counselor role. The difference between the factor structure in the original international study and that in Hong Kong may be due to cultural factors and different counseling practices. Future research is needed with a larger sample for further confirmation

Moving inclusion forward for students with special educational needs in the Asia-Pacific region

This paper draws on a comparative study of seven jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region to examine current challenges to progressing inclusive education for students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. The study used a qualitative approach to collect data from each jurisdiction through a purposive sampling of knowledgeable, university-associated informants. Content analysis was used to identify and quantify specific challenges reported in the data. Subsequently, these items were coded as themes to form a matrix of challenges within and across jurisdictions. Findings revealed that challenges were broadly consistent with recent global trends and shared many commonalities, despite occurring in diverse societal, political and education systems. These challenges are: lack of adequate initial teacher education and ongoing professional development for practicing teachers; lack of resources and support to meet the needs of students with SEN; inconsistent policy guidelines and implementation action plans; restricted stakeholder engagement and collaboration across all levels of education; and limited local inclusion research to inform practice in schools. The findings underscore the need for government and institutional commitment and oversight to bridge the policy-to-practice gap, and an urgent need for local research to identify and disseminate successful approaches for including students with SEN throughout the region

The Role of Feedback in Enhancing Students’ Self-regulation in Inviting Schools

This paper explores the importance of self-regulation and the role of feedback in encouraging such regulation from socialcognitive and socio-cultural perspectives. The effects and value of various influences within the social and culturalenvironment are reviewed. In the context of inviting schools, thought is presented to the issue of how the ‘Five Ps’ (People,Programs, Policies, Places, and Processes) all provide various forms of feedback and input that could encourage selfregulation.In particular, the authors discuss how a reporting system that provides detailed and personalized feedback tostudents in an inviting setting can be one important way of facilitating students to reach their full potential as autonomouslearners. Suggestions for consideration by school staff, and for future researchers, are provided

The Perceived School Climate in Invitational Schools in Hong Kong: Using the Chinese Version of the Inviting School Survey-Revised (ISS-R)

This article describes the use of the Chinese translation of the revised Inviting School Survey (ISS-R; Smith, 2005; Smith &Bernard, 2004) to measure the invitational climate of seven invitational secondary schools in Hong Kong. The five subscales ofChinese version of ISS-R were found to be valid and reliable in a sample of 706 Grade 11 students. Students’ perceptions ofthe invitational climate in the key areas of people, places, processes, policies, and programs (5P’s) were analyzed. It issuggested that indications of invitational climate in the 5P’s could facilitate teachers’ and administrators’ consideration inimproving invitational practices to cater for the needs of different groups of students

Active Learning as a Beyond-the-Classroom Strategy to Improve University Students’ Career Adaptability

Geopolitical changes worldwide, together with rapid advances in technology, have created a situation where an individual’s working life can present many new challenges. Helping students develop the attitudes and skills necessary to adapt to constant change along a career path has become a priority in education. Developing this career adaptability is becoming increasingly important to the sustainability of democracy, the economy, justice, human values, and equality. The authors of this paper argue that to improve the quality of our education system in universities, active learning should play a more important role to enrich the typical lecturing–learning processes. The aim of the study reported here was to examine the impact from implementing a 3-month active learning program that took university students beyond the classroom to increase their career adaptability and self-esteem and to strengthen their meaning in life. A mixed-method approach was adopted and conducted in two phases with 119 undergraduate students in human resources management at a university in Hong Kong. Findings suggested a significant improvement in career adaptability of the students after participating in the program when compared to a control group. However, data did not indicate any significant change in self-esteem and meaning in life in the training group. The findings support the valuable role of active learning as a strategy to enhance students’ career adaptability in a changing but sustainable world of employment

Play-based parent training programme supporting Hong Kong kindergarten children in social competence development

It is vital to foster children’s ability to cooperate with others, communicate effectively, and exercise self-control. These competencies represent a set of transferrable skills required in many aspects of daily life and along any career path. In Hong Kong, a play-based training programme was launched to support parents to target these areas of social competence. The programme taught 414 parents to use group games that foster social skills development in children aged 4–5 years. Parents completed culturally-appropriate questionnaires before the programme started, one week after the programme ended, and three months after the programme ended. Paired sample t-test analyses revealed significant improvements in children’s social skills. Implications for using play-based social learning experiences are discussed