Mian Wang of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education has been appointed by the UCOP to be the next Faculty Director of the University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) China Programs for the two-year period of September 1, 2017 through August 31, 2019.
UCEAP is the only study abroad provider representing the entire University of California system. The China Programs of UCEAP, which has its Shanghai Office at Fudan University and Beijing Office at Peking University, offer numerous options for UC students to participate in the programs based at Beijing Normal University, Fudan University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and the Univ. of Michigan Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ., Joint Institute. UC students in these programs have the option to develop their Chinese language proficiency, explore business and economics in an international financial center, gain new perspective on global issues, or pursue a valuable internship that will help them transition into their careers.
Mian Wang is a Professor in the Department of Education. He received Ph.D.s from the University of Patras, Greece, in Applied Developmental Psychology with an emphasis on Cognitive Development of Children with Intellectual Disabilities as well as from the University of Kansas in Special Education with an emphasis on Family and Disability Policy. Before his 20 plus years working experience in the field of disability and special education in several countries such as Canada, China, Greece, and USA, he completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in Psychology in China. Dr. Wang’s 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.
In recent years, his research has primarily focused on examining family outcomes of early childhood services (e.g., early intervention programs and early childhood special education programs), particularly in the areas of family quality of life and family-professional partnership. As a primary researcher of the research team at the Beach Center on Disability of the University of Kansas, he participated in two federal funded research projects by NIDRR (National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research) and OSEP (Office of Special Education Programs) of the U.S. Department of Education which have led to the development and validation of two family outcome measures: Family Quality of Life Survey and Family-Professional Partnership Scale. Other areas of his interest pertain to disability policy issues that focus on supporting families of children with disabilities, analyzing impact of policy on the system structure of early childhood service and service delivery (i.e., policy on the streets), and analyzing comparatively international policy on disability and special education, in particular, those of China. Another set of interests concerns studying positive behavioral support (PBS) and family support in cultural context, in particular, culturally responsive, evidence-based practices to families of children with disabilities who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In addition, he is interested in international inclusive education research and practice as well as applications of evidence-based practices for children with autism and their families in Asian Pacific countries.