With an interdisciplinary background in social work, economics, and education, Dr. Yi Wang’s research focuses on understanding and addressing inequality in child development and wellbeing emerging during early childhood. Yi is particularly interested in investigating the mechanism of ecological environment (e.g., parents, child care, school, and community) in affecting child development and wellbeing using developmental perspective. Another indispensable part of her research is studying the role of early childhood interventions and safety-net sustenance policies in empowering children and families living in adverse environment. At IWERC, Yi investigates the pathways that young children take through Illinois early childhood programs and services and identifies effectiveness of different pathways.
Yi earned her Ph.D. in social work with a concentration in social policy analysis from Columbia University. She has been dedicated to promoting equality of opportunity among children on multiple levels, from local to global.
You can read more about IWERC Projects Yi is involved in here: