Mian Wang is one of two invited speakers for the Division of International Special Education and Services showcase presentation at the 2013 Council for Exceptional Children Conference

Mian Wang of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School was one of two invited speakers for the Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES) showcase presentation at the 2013 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference that was held in San Antonio, TX in earl April. For this special invited session entitled “International Perspectives on Special Needs Education,” Wang organized and facilitated a panel presentation featuring Chinese scholars from China’s National Institute of Education Sciences and two Chinese universities with leading special education programs. Wang was also the co-chair of an invited session on Special Education in China.

The Division of International Special Education and Services, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children, promotes knowledge, exchange, collaboration, human rights and advocacy to those who provide services for individuals with disabilities. The Council for Exceptional Children is an international community of professionals who are the voice and vision of special and gifted education. CEC’s mission is to improve, through excellence and advocacy, the education and quality of life for children and youth with exceptionalities and to enhance engagement of their families.

Mian Wang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education, specializing in Special Education, Disability, and Risk Studies. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Patras, Greece, in Applied Developmental Psychology with an emphasis on Cognitive Development of Children with Intellectual Disabilities as well as a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in Special Education with an emphasis on Family and Disability Policy. Wang has years of experience working in the field of disability and special education in several countries such as Canada, China, Greece, and the United States. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in Psychology in China. His research interests include: child and family outcomes of early childhood services, family-professional partnership, atypical child development, positive behavioral support in cultural context, and disability policy. he is the winner of the 2009 Early Career Award by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) and the Director of the Pacific Rim Center for Research on Special Education & Disability.