Jimmy McLean

About Jimmy McLean

I am a literacy educator, researcher, and writer whose work explores how young people compose stories, identities, and communities across the spaces where they live and learn. Grounded in my experiences as a public school teacher, my research investigates the pedagogies, curricula, and ideological stances that nurture young writers, particularly those from marginalized or underrepresented backgrounds, in affirming and connective ways.As a teacher educator, I prepare future and practicing teachers to engage literacy as both a personal and social practice that invites critical reflection, creative risk-taking, and joy. In my courses and training sessions, I aim to build inclusive, dialogic learning environments that honor children’s voices and literacies while equipping educators to imagine and enact equitable literacy education.Through my scholarship, teaching, and community partnerships, I seek to bridge research and practice to better understand how writing and literacy can cultivate belonging, agency, and hope in classrooms and beyond.

Experience

1. Senior Professional Learning Specialist

   Noredink

   Jan 2026 — Present

Education

• Xavier University

  Bachelor of Science (BS), Middle Childhood Education

  2010 — 2014

• The University of Texas at Austin

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Curriculum and Instruction

  2019 — 2025

• Miami University

  Master of Education (M.Ed.), Transformative Education

  2016 — 2018