Teacher Professional Development on Catering for Students with Developmental Needs in Kindergartens
Introduction
To enhance kindergarten teachers’ professional competence to cater for students with special needs, the Education Bureau (EDB) has been providing structured training for kindergarten teachers. For the three school years from 2015/16 to 2017/18, the EDB commissioned tertiary institutions and a non-governmental organisation to provide professional development programmes for kindergarten teachers on catering for students with special needs. From the 2018/19 school year onwards, the EDB has recognised the aforementioned programmes as pitching at basic level and progressively organised additional courses at advanced and thematic levels. In addition, to promote the development of inclusive culture in kindergartens and enhance teachers’ professional capacity to cater for students with developmental needs, the EDB has organised different types of training and school-based teacher development programmes.
Teacher training programmes
(1) Basic, Advanced and Thematic Courses on Catering for Kindergarten Students with Special Needs
- To enhance kindergarten teachers’ professional competence to cater for students with special needs, from the 2021/22 school year onwards, structured in-service training programmes pitched at basic, advanced and thematic levels have been provided.
- Since the 2018/19 school year, the EDB has implemented the “School-based Teacher Development Scheme in Supporting Students with Developmental Needs in Kindergartens: A Positive Classroom” to support kindergarten teachers' application of positive behavioural management strategies through which kindergarten teachers have received school-based consultative services, in addition to structured training.
- The 3Es Project aims to support kindergartens in catering for the diverse affective and social needs of students through implementing the 3Es Model of early prevention, early identification and early intervention. By providing school-based teacher development and building a sharing network for professional exchanges, the 3Es Project helps enhance kindergarten teachers’competence in fostering students’affective and social development.