Dian Mawene
Dian Mawene (She/her) is an assistant professor of special education. Dian earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interest is at the intersections of race, class, space, and disability. Dian works with students, parents, and community members to understand the local context of racial disproportionality in education opportunities and outcomes such as in special education identifications and school disciplinary practices. Dian also delves into understanding structural factors such as public policies and school de/segregation politics that shape the educational opportunities of students, especially students of color. Her aim is to create a learning environment and transform the school system towards being more culturally responsive to the diverse needs of students of color from historically marginalized backgrounds. Dian’s research is transdisciplinary in nature combining perspectives from special education, disability studies, education policy, and critical geography. Currently, she is working on examining how students of color and of low-income backgrounds including those with disabilities are spatially othered. Dian has also developed systemic transformation with local school stakeholders to create a culturally responsive school discipline system. An emerging new line of study she is interested in is establishing teacher-preparation programs towards having justice-oriented teaching forces.
Research Interests
- Disability justice
- Disability studies
- Educational equity
- Issues and policy regarding the preparation, recruitment, and retention of special education personnel
- Promoting inclusive education and advancing leadership for individuals with disabilities and their families
- Special Education
- Urban Education
Courses Taught
- 650: Disability Inclusion & Schools
- 856: Family Partnerships
Selected Publications
Ko, D., Mawene, D., Roberts, K., & Hong, J. J. (2021). A Systematic Review of Boundary-Crossing Partnerships in Designing Equity-Oriented Special Education Services for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students With Disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 42(6), 412-425. doi:10.1177/0741932520983474
Afacan, K., Bal, A., Artiles, A. J., Cakir, H. I., Ko, D., Mawene, D., & Kim, H. (2021). Inclusive knowledge production at an elementary school through family-school-university partnerships: A formative intervention study. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 31, 100569. doi:10.1016/j.lcsi.2021.100569
Bal, A., Waitoller, F. R., Mawene, D., & Gorham, A. (2021). Culture, context, and disability: A systematic literature review of cultural-historical activity theory-based studies on the teaching and learning of students with disabilities. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 43(4), 293-337. doi:10.1080/10714413.2020.1829312
Mawene, D., & Bal, A. (n.d.). Spatial othering: Examining residential areas, school attendance zones, and school discipline in an urbanizing school district. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28, 91. doi:10.14507/epaa.28.4676
Bal, A., Schrader, E. M., Afacan, K., & Mawene, D. (2016). Using Learning Labs for Culturally Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Intervention in School and Clinic, 52(2), 122-128. doi:10.1177/1053451216636057
Bal, A., Mawene, D., Schrader, E., & Pelton, S. (2014). Practitioner brief: using data maps to understand risks and opportunities to transform school from the ground-up.. Madison, WI: Madison: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction..