Developing Support for Inclusion: A Professional Learning Approach for Teachers in Hong Kong.

Introduction Initially the movement towards inclusive education focused on the inclusion of students with disabilities who had previously been excluded from regular schools (Forlin, 2008). The focus on inclusion is now more strongly embedded within a notion of equity and social inclusion. Equity in education is seen to have two dimensions, that of fairness and inclusion (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, January, 2008). Making education available to all is seen as one of the most powerful levers to making society more equitable as it enhances social cohesion and trust. Inclusion is now considered to be a much broader philosophy that seeks to address inequity and fairness by focusing on the inclusion of all students regardless of disability, gender, ethnicity or other disadvantage. The United Nations (2006) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities places an obligation on governments to ensure a fully inclusive education system for all children and forms a guideline for education systems to adopt this approach. The World Education Forum held in Dakar in April 2000 originally promoted this by establishing a goal of providing quality basic education for all children, young people, and adults by 2015.For many countries, though, they are still struggling to manage and implement an education system that justly caters for diversity (United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation [UNESCO], 2008, Spring). By 2009, which is half way to achieving the Dakar goals, at least 75 million primary school-aged children have still never been to school with more than half of these living in countries affected by conflict (Save the Children, 2009). Importance of Attitudes and Beliefs Teachers' attitudes towards including students with diverse needs are influenced by a number of factors. More positive attitudes are generally seen in teachers who teach lower grades; include students with mild learning problems; or who have experienced meeting and associating with people with disabilities in schools and the community (Sharma, Forlin & Loreman, 2008). Teachers, generally, have been found to be less willing to include students with emotional and behavioral disorders (Hastings & Oakford, 2003). Female teachers have commonly been found to have greater tolerance for implementing inclusive education (Ellins & Porter, 2005) and generally have higher levels of sympathy and lower levels of fear than reported by male teachers (Carroll, Forlin, & Jobling, 2003). A teacher's behavior in class is likely to be influenced by their own efficacy expectations and their belief that what they do will be effective (Palmer, 2006). Teachers with positive attitudes towards inclusion more readily change and adapt the ways they work in order to benefit students with a range of learning needs (Sharma et al., 2008). These teachers also influence the attitudes of classroom peers without disabilities towards students with disabilities in a positive way (Norwicki & Sandieson, 2002). Research tends to suggest that there is a positive correlation between the amount of disability education a teacher has received and educators' positive attitudes towards inclusion (Sharma et al., 2008). Studies that have examined teachers' attitudes and concerns towards inclusive education have reported that successful implementation of any inclusive policy is largely dependent upon holding positive attitudes about it (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002) and having received appropriate training together with the availability of physical and human resources (Bradshaw & Mundia, 2006). Inclusion in Hong Kong Although somewhat slower than other international jurisdictions there has been an increased awareness by governments throughout the Asia-Pacific region to reconsider educational opportunities for previously excluded children, who even if educated may have received this in segregated facilities (Wu, Ashman, & Kim, 2008). …