Are in-service teachers supported in Hong Kong? Teachers’ perceived support needs in the implementation of inclusive education

ABSTRACT

This study examines how well in-service teachers in Hong Kong (N = 1,110) are supported in their efforts to teach in inclusive classrooms. It also examines the psychometric properties of the newly developed Teachers’ Perceived Support Needs scale to measure in-service teachers’ perceived support needs. Factors that predict teachers’ perceived support needs are also identified. The exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses revealed two factors: ‘support in using inclusive teaching strategies’ and ‘support in expert guidance’. The results show that the Hong Kong in-service teachers felt under-supported in implementing inclusive education. The experience teaching students with disabilities, level of confidence, level of training, gender and school type emerged as significant predictors of their perceived support needs in inclusive education.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusive education
• teachers’ perceived support needs
• resources and support
• students with disabilities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wing Sze Emily Chow

Wing Sze Emily Chow is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia. She has research interests in inclusive and special education, autism spectrum disorder and teacher professional development. She has been the primary investigator on funded projects and has led professional development opportunities for teachers at public and international schools.

Umesh Sharma

Umesh Sharma is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia where he is the Associate Dean (Equity and Inclusion). His areas of research are positive behaviour support, inclusive education for disadvantaged children and policy and practice in special and inclusive education. He is the chief co-editor of the Australasian Journal of Special Education and the Oxford Encyclopedia of Inclusive and Special Education. He has authored over 150 academic articles, book chapters and edited books that focus on various aspects of inclusive education.