Who We Are

The CECI project involves the development of an international, interdisciplinary and collaborative network, bringing together scholarship, expertise and experience to provide intellectual support for the development of inclusive education in China and beyond.

Network members

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Yuchen Wang yuchen.wang@ed.ac.uk

Yuchen is the principle investigator of the CECI project and the convenor of this network. She is an ESRC Global Challenges Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellow, based in Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh. She grew up in China and received her early training in psychology and special education. In 2016, she completed her PhD research ‘Imagining Inclusive Schooling’, which provided valuable insights into current status of inclusive education in China. Her research focuses on the international development of inclusive education, and the implications of pupil voice for transforming practice in classrooms and schools.

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Lani Florian lani.florian@ed.ac.uk

Lani is the Bell Chair of Education at the University of Edinburgh and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Her influential research on inclusive education has led to invitations from around the world to speak, conduct workshops and provide technical assistance in many countries and to international agencies. Her research interests include models of provision for meeting the needs of all learners, inclusive pedagogy and teaching practices in inclusive schools. Her recent studies have focussed on the role of teacher education in promoting social and educational inclusion. She is the editor of the Sage Handbook of Special Education, now in its second edition, and a co-author of Achievement and Inclusion in Schools.

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Meng Deng mdeng@bnu.edu.cn

Meng is the Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Education and the Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education at Beijing Normal University, China. He is also the Deputy Chair of the Chinese Higher Education Society of Special Education. He has been leading or participating in many national and international projects, and published widely in international and Chinese journals. His research interests include inclusive education, disability, community support and service, and research methodology in education. His service was recognised in the ‘Excellent Personnel Support Plan of the Ministry of Education’ – a top honour in Chinese higher education.

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Michael Shevlin mshevlin@tcd.ie

Michael is a Professor at the School of Education at Dublin Trinity College, Ireland. He has extensive experience in the field of SEN. His teaching and research has focused on facilitating the inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs within mainstream schools, promoting the voice of marginalised people within decision making processes that affect their lives, and addressing access issues for young people with disabilities within compulsory and higher education. He, along with a number of colleagues, has completed a number of national studies. Michael has been involved in a number of policy making initiatives within Irish education in relation to the development of inclusive learning environments in schools and higher education.

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Gillean McCluskey gillean.mccluskey@ed.ac.uk

Gillean is a Senior Lecture at Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, and the Deputy Director of Centre for Research in Education Inclusion & Diversity. Her research, teaching and writing has focused on two related fields of endeavour: a) restorative practices in education and b) exclusion from school. Her work aims to contribute to understanding of the impact of inequalities in education by advancing first, our understanding of exclusion from school and, secondly, the role that RP may have to play in this. Her own involvement in this area arises out of a professional and academic interest in, and concern about, the experiences of  children and young people who experience exclusion.

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Institutions and organisations

‘1+1’ Group for Disability (DPO in China, link)

Centre for Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University (link)

China Vision (link)

Rong Ai Rong Le – National Network of Parents for Children with Intellectual Disabilities (link)

Qisehua Kindergarten (Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China)

Save the Children – China (link)

UNESCO Beijing office (link)

Associated networks

Childhood and Youth Studies Network (link)

Disability Research Edinburgh (link)

Research-led Teacher Education Network (link)

Safe Inclusive Schools Network (link)

Scotland China Education Network (link)

Advisory Board

Daniel Hammond. Lecturer in Chinese Politics and Society. School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. University of Edinburgh.

John Davis. Professor of Childhood Inclusion. Moray House School of Education. University of Edinburgh.

Kay Tisdall. Professor of Childhood Policy. School of Social and Political Science. University of Edinburgh.

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