Dian Mawene

Dian Mawene is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education. Her work focuses on systemic inequities in education, particularly the intersections of race, class, geography, and disability. She holds a PhD (2021), MS (2015), and B.Ed (2008) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Satya Wacana Christian University, respectively.

Her research critically examines how spatial and policy contexts perpetuate exclusion and racial disproportionality in special education and school discipline. She employs methodologies like Indigenous Learning Labs to foster transformative agency and utopian future-making in education systems. Key areas include decolonizing pedagogy, prefigurative political action, and collaborative partnerships between schools, families, and communities.

Mawene’s recent publications highlight systemic critiques of equity-focused policies and the role of marginalized voices in co-designing educational reforms. Her work bridges academic research with public scholarship, advocating for inclusive spaces that center historically marginalized perspectives.

• Recipient of the University of New Hampshire College of Liberal Arts Global Racial and Social Inequality Lab Small Grant (2023).

In teaching, she leads courses such as Disability and Society and Culturally Responsive MTSS at UW-Madison and previously at the University of New Hampshire. Her advising and grants emphasize community-driven solutions to educational inequities, leveraging partnerships to redesign policies and practices. She collaborates with local stakeholders to materialize expansive learning environments that challenge structural injustices.

Mawene’s research initiatives include the Indigenous Learning Lab, a collaborative platform for prefigurative action and speculative futurism in education. Her work also extends to media engagements, including analyses of suburban segregation and disability rights advocacy in Indonesia.