Inclusion or exclusion? - A study of Hong Kong students' affective and social outcomes in a mainstream classroom

152 elementary students age ranged from 8 to 11 were studied on their affective and social domains in a school with an inclusive policy in Hong Kong. Five questionnaires from the Assessment Program for Affective and Social Outcomes (APASO) [EMB (2001) Manual for Assessment Program for Affective and Social Outcomes. Quality Assurance Inspection Annual Report (2001/2002) Retrieved 20 February, 2005, from http://svais.emb.gov.hk/kpmweb/apaso/Eng/ default.htm] were used to measure students' attitude to school, self-concept, attitude to learning, interpersonal competence, and problem solving strategy. 16 inclusive students, who are with different learning difficulties and engaging in the government remedial teaching scheme under the inclusion policy, were extracted for a close examination. The differences between normal (N=136) and inclusive (N = 16) students were examined by a series of one-way ANOVA tests. The outcome was triangulated with teachers' perspective through teacher conference and school profile report to reach a descriptive account. The two groups had significant differences on social and academic self-concept which were explained by a positive discrimination" perspective to suggest a gap between what students perceived and teachers thought. Recommendations are made on how school can promote an inclusive environment to best serve students who are found to have increasingly immense differences in their ability and background in recent educational settings. © Springer 2005."