Date: April 6, 2022 (Wednesday)
Time: 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm (Hong Kong Time)
Mode: Online via Zoom in English
Registration: https://eduhk.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86TnXHrf6kJoXzM
In this INTER-CONVERSATIONS, an international online forum organized by the Department of Early Childhood Education at the EdUHK, we focus on preschool children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). We have invited Dr. Eva Lai Yuk Ching, Assistant Professor of Teaching at ECE, to dispel the myths of inclusive early childhood education. We have also invited SEN practitioners from Hong Kong, China, Australia and Singapore (see below for biographies of speakers) to share their wisdom and tips for preschool teachers to better meet the needs of their SEN students in their classrooms. The talks are followed by a question-and-answer session. Contact Sofie Chua (schua@eduhk.hk) for queries.
Biographies of Speakers
Dr. Eva Lai Yuk Ching is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong. After receiving her BPhil specialising in special education in the UK, she obtained her MEd in ECE and PhD in Australia. She has extensive experience in the field of tertiary teaching for teachers in the areas of early childhood education and early childhood special education. She has wide research interests, including inclusive education and policy, early childhood special education, and picture book teaching. She has published journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers.
Kingman Chung founded the International Music Therapy Centre (IMTC) in 2013. It is the first social enterprise in Hong Kong dedicated to the promotion of music therapy. He is a Registered Music Therapist (Australia) who completed his Master of Music Therapy at The University of Queensland in 2012. He is a clinical tutor of The University of Melbourne and honorary advisor of The Cancerinformation.com.hkCharity Foundation. His focus has been on serving people with special educational needs, cancer patients, stroke survivors, and their families through the provision of therapy sessions, workshops, and training at hospitals, universities, and NGOs. He has received over 100 media coverage. He recently received the Smart Living Award 2021: Outstanding Innovative Music Mental Wellness App.
Chen Yuwei is the founder of Ian (溢恩) Behavioural Services. She operates model classrooms that serve kids with autism in Chengdu, China. She has a degree in psychological sciences from Singapore and is currently working towards her master’s degree in special education at The Education University of Hong Kong, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) certificate. In 2018, she was selected to represent the Teachers’ Training Program for Children with autism co-funded by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation and the South East Asia Prayer Centre. She has completed two internships in the Pittsburgh Behavioural Services and Journey Centre at Pennsylvania State in 2018 and 2019. It is her passion to teach and learn and translate applied behavior analysis into practice.
Sarah Brunton is a Learning Intervention Specialist at the Aurora School for the Deaf and DeafBlind. She has worked in Special Education for over ten years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education, majoring in Indigenous Health and Education, a Post Graduate Degree in Early Childhood Education, and a Master’s Degree in Learning Intervention and Deaf Education. She is currently part of a research project that investigates play and language development in Deaf/Hard of Hearing children. Sarah has worked across mainstream and specialist settings throughout her career and is committed to holistically enhancing young people's learning outcomes through play-based learning and is passionate about fostering strong community and family partnerships and equitable education for children with diverse needs and abilities.
Dr Malathy Krishnasamy is the research lead at Thye Hua Kwan Early Intervention for Children, a non-profit organization that runs four early intervention centres for children with developmental needs. She started as a primary school teacher before she moved, after 15 years, to teaching children with dyslexia at a non-profit organization. In the early 2000s, when the Singapore government started initiatives towards becoming an inclusive society, teacher training at Nanyang Technological University included a compulsory course on inclusion of children with special needs in the classroom. Malathy taught this course for years before moving into research at the university, where she also did her PhD. Her thesis focused on the quality of life of young adults with intellectual disabilities.