As a secondary school teacher and teacher educator, my background is in language and literacy education, and English language and literature. I see my teaching and research as interrelated—a way to explore approaches to creating learning communities that better support the diverse learning styles, backgrounds and interests of adolescent learners. In my work, I use critical pedagogy and inquiry as lenses through which to address a range of sociocultural issues connected to adolescent literacy learning and teaching. I am also interested in bringing a critical lens to the pedagogical practices and ideologies that shape teaching and teacher education. In my current research, I explore academic experiences and identities of immigrant adolescent learners. At the Graduate School of Education, I teach courses in Literacy, Writing, and Adolescent Literature in the Masters of English Education program.

Title(s): Assistant Professor

Education: Ph.D., University of Georgia

Affiliations:

American Educational Research Association
American Reading Forum
International Reading Association

Research interests:

• Adolescent literacy and identity
• Critical inquiry
• Critical pedagogy and teacher education
• Qualitative research

Recent publications:

McLean, C., Boling, E., & Rowsell, J. (in press). Engaging diverse students in and out of school. In L. Morrow, R. Rueda, & D. Lapp (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Literacy Instruction: Issues of Diversity, Policy, and Equity . New York: Guilford Publishing.

  Alvermann, D.E. & McLean, C. (2007). The nature of literacies. In A. Berger, L. Rush & J. Eakle (Eds.), Secondary school reading and writing: What literacy reveals for classroom practices (pp.11-35). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

McLean, C. (2006). T.A. as text: Reading the implied role of  the teaching assistant. Journal of Language and Literacy Education. www.coe.uga.edu/jolle/

Alvermann, D. E., Marshall, J., McLean, C., Bishop, J., & Kirk, D. (2006). Literacy practices in afterschool web-based youth communities. Final report submitted to The Robert Bowne Foundation (Edmund A. Stanley, Jr. Research Grant), New York City.