Deborah MacPhee

Deborah MacPhee serves as Professor of Elementary Literacy Education and Interim Associate Director and Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs at Illinois State University's School of Teaching and Learning, where she previously directed the Borg Center for Reading and Literacy.

Her educational foundation includes:

• Bachelor's and Master's in Elementary Education from University of South Carolina Aiken
• PhD in Language and Literacy from University of South Carolina

Dr. MacPhee's research critically investigates literacy coaching discourses, professional development interactions, and media representations of the 'science of reading,' emphasizing the need for multifaceted narratives in literacy education. Her 2023 co-authored book 'Learning to Be Literate: More than a Single Story' challenges reductive educational frameworks, while her publications in Reading Research Quarterly and The Reading Teacher demonstrate scholarly impact.

As an active International Literacy Association leader (2025-2028 term), she serves on grant committees and journal review panels. Her current administrative role coordinating undergraduate programs builds on prior experience as a classroom teacher and literacy coach, bridging practical and theoretical perspectives in teacher education.