Deborah MacPhee, PhD

Dr. Deborah MacPhee is a professor of elementary literacy education in the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University, where she teaches literacy theory and methods courses for graduates and undergraduates. Deborah’s research critically examines discourses of literacy coaching, professional development school interactions, and metaphors used in media portrayals of the science of reading. Her work has been published in several academic and professional journals, including Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, The International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, School-University Partnerships, and The New Educator. She works with K-5 classroom teachers to develop, implement, and study instructional units that integrate social studies and literacy. Deborah is a former first and second grade teacher, literacy coach and the former director of the Mary and Jean Borg Center for Reading and Literacy at Illinois State University.

Recent Scholarship

Paugh, P. and MacPhee, D. (2023). Learning to be literate: More than a single story. Norton Publishing.

Sanden, S., MacPhee, D. A., Hartle, L., Poggendorf, S., & Zuiderveen, C. (2022). The status of phonics instruction: Learning from the teachers. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 61 (1). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol61/iss1/5

MacPhee, D., Handsfield, L. & Paugh, P. (2021). Conflict or conversation? Media portrayals of the science of reading. Reading Research Quarterly. http://doi:10.1002/rrq.384