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This paper aims to report a case study of exploring the effect of ?assessment for learning? on improving student learning and facilitating teachers? professional development in the examination-oriented context of Hong Kong. By adopting Variation Theory of the Lesson Study approach, data were collected through pre- and post-tests, interviews with students and teacher participants and observation field-notes in order to help diagnose students? learning difficulties and provide evidence for teachers to refine their teaching strategies to enhance students? learning effectiveness. The students? improvement in learning performance informed the teacher participants of the usefulness of ?assessment for learning? in the classroom.

Validation of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) for use with teachers in Macao (SAR) was undertaken to determine its usefulness as a measure of teacher self-efficacy for inclusive education. This paper discusses the results found by analyzing various versions of the TSES and TSES-C in a Chinese format with 200 pre-service teachers in Macao (SAR).  Psychometric analyses were undertaken to investigate the validity of the existing scales and the three and two factor solutions. The results indicated a preferred 9-item version that produced improved factor loadings and reliabilities. The use of a relatively quick and short scale to measure such a complex phenomenon as teacher self-efficacy is discussed. Issues are raised regarding generalizability of scales and the impact of culture, demographics, and edifying issues that may impact on the usefulness of such scales.

Education for learners with special education needs has become one of the major concerns of education policies in every corner of the world. In Macau, however, the transformation of schools into inclusive environments is reported to be slow because many teachers in Macau have not accepted the key values of inclusive education and possess little knowledge of their responsibilities as inclusive education teachers. Despite being nonempirical, the aim of this article is twofold: to inform inclusive education teachers, especially those in Macau and other developing regions, of the necessary knowledge, skills and strategies of working collaboratively with parents of children with SEN and provide policy makers concerned with practical ideas of designing effective professional development programmes for teachers working in the inclusive environment. The ultimate aim is to ensure that children with SEN benefit from an education process that includes quality learning opportunities.

The following study reflects and explores the dynamics of aesthetic experiences within drama improvisations. This arts-based research was carried out in Hong Kong with six Cantonese children who were aged 3?5?years. Data were collected from the video transcripts of five workshops and the researcher?s own research journal. Two significant milieus were observed: switching in-between roles and intuitive creativity is not talkback. I argue that because each of these two milieus provide the foreground for the complex ? and at times contradictory ? nature of children?s aesthetic experiences where Deleuzian power is at play, opportunities arise for both, challenging the traditional adult?child power relations, and in so doing, educators can be able to reconfigure and reconceptualise teaching goals and practices, both generally and specifically, within the context of early childhood education.

The quest to become research universities of international repute has led flagship universities in East and Southeast Asia to develop a new focus on attracting international doctoral students. This paper aims to understand Chinese doctoral students’ mobility in the immediate region and their education to work perceptions. The study draws from a sample of 301 doctoral students from China who were studying at five universities in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Analysis on students’ decision making and after-study pathways highlights the regional exchange in related areas. We argue that this regional mobility of doctoral students, characterized as the second education circuit, is facilitated by a higher education migration infrastructure with three interactively weaved dimensions: commercial, social, and regulatory. The research findings suggest the growing importance of Asia as a regional second circuit of doctoral training for students from China.

This paper reports findings of a mixed methods study examining private school teachers’ perceptions of efficacy in dealing with the challenges presented by inclusive education in Macao. This is highly pertinent after the Government invited consultation to propose changes to amendments of the Decree Law of 1996 concerning the education of students with Special Education Needs (SEN) which will likely see private schools being required to accept these students in the future. Within the context of teacher preparedness for inclusive education, the study found that a number of teachers felt that they were not at all prepared to teach students with SEN. Whilst some teachers suggested that they lacked skills and knowledge in teaching in inclusive classrooms, some felt overwhelmed with the challenges. The teachers proposed that they would need to know how to provide instructional adaptations and modifications to support students with SEN. Implications for continuous development of teacher training and education are discussed within the context of improving teacher efficacy and how private school teachers could better respond to the challenges of inclusive education in Macao.

Classroom management is a critical area in the curriculum of teacher education programs. Student teachers’ conceptions of the role of the teacher as a class leader are frequently backed by their intuition and experience as students and socio-cultural context rather than evidence-based. This paper examines the conceptions of classroom management held by a multicultural group of forty-four student teachers attending a teacher education program at a higher education institute in Macao. The study aims at understanding the patterns of variation expressed by student teachers regarding the purpose and relevance of the object of learning. It compares a) the patterns of variation in students’ views of classroom management, and b) the students’ learning progress based on the pre-and post-test. The phenomenographic approach was adopted as the conceptual framework. Participants handwritten transcripts from student teachers at the first and last sessions of the course are the primary type of data collection. The findings show that changes in student teachers’ understanding of the conceptions of classroom management occurred during the course. The initial preferences for disciplinary approaches to classroom leadership have given way to conceptions of promoting the integration of classroom management into learning. The participants expressed increasing adherence to classroom management systems targeting and providing behavioural and academic supports and interventions to children and adolescents with and without special needs.

In an inclusive education system, educators engage with increasing their understanding of individual differences, especially in regard to learning, and develop and adjust learning and assessment tasks and contexts in ways that make them accessible and appropriate for all students regardless of starting ability levels, interests, learning strengths and weaknesses. In inclusive schools, diverse approaches to learning are valued and all learners are challenged and supported to be successful in their learning goals. Macao has begun the journey to develop an increasingly inclusive education system. This book has been written as the journey is beggining and explores some of the different perspectives twoard inclusion and interpretaions of "inclusive education" within Macao's education systems and the wider community at this time. The main aims of the research presented in this book are to understand the different views and roles of staff in Macao schools and in the wider community. The book raises questions about how inclusion in Macao might unfold and identifies areas where efforts may be needed to progress inclusive education.