Media

Online learning has become an increasingly popular mode of instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there has never been any systematic tools for examining the specific challenges experienced by primary school students with special educational needs (SEN) in Hong Kong. In order to promote inclusive education and improve students’ online learning experiences, the research team in the Speech, Language and Reading Lab from the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) conducted a large-scale online survey and in-depth child-parent and teacher interview during the pandemic, with 254 students, 506 parents, and 101 teachers. The results not only reveal the specific challenges encountered by different types of SEN students, their parents, and their school teachers, but also provide possible solutions to effectively allocate educational resources. This research is funded by the Equal Opportunities Commission under the “Funding Programme of Research Projects on Equal Opportunities 2020/21”.

This press conference will cover 1) the specific challenges faced by different types of SEN students in online learning; 2) the strategies which the government, schools, teachers and parents can employ to enhance the effectiveness of online learning; and 3) how to refine post-pandemic online and offline learning experiences. Additionally, the research team will introduce two freely accessible assessment tools, targeting at measuring the attitudes towards and effectiveness of online learning, which could provide future directions for education.

Members of the media are cordially invited to attend the event. Details are as follows:

Date:                  February 9, 2023 (Thursday)
Time:                 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Venue:               Room 408-410, 4/F, Meng Wah Complex, HKU, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Speakers:          
Professor Shelley Tong, Director of the Speech, Language and Reading Lab, Faculty of Education, HKU
Dr Ferrick Chu, Executive Director (Operations), Equal Opportunities Commission
Ms Doris Tsui, Acting Head (Policy, Research and Training), Equal Opportunities Commission
Languages:       Cantonese and English (simultaneous interpretation)

For details of the Speech, Language and Reading Lab, please visit https://slrlab.edu.hku.hk/.

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Emily Cheung, Senior Manager (Development and Communications), Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 3917 4270 / Email: emchy@hku.hk), or Ms Sochi Liu, Research Assistant of the Speech, Language and Reading Lab, Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 2241 5984 / Email: liuscs@hku.hk)