McLaren left Canada in 1985 to teach at Miami University's School of Education and Allied Professions where he spent eight years working with colleague Henry Giroux during a time when the epistemology known as critical pedagogy was gaining traction in North American schools of education.
Maclaren je napustio Kanadu 1985. godine kako bi predavao na Sveučilištu Miami, na Fakultetu obrazovanja i srodnih zanimanja, gdje je proveo osam godina radeći s kolegom Henry Giroux u vrijeme kada je epistemologija poznata kao kritička pedagogija dobivala zamah u sjevernoamaeričkim školama za obrazovanje.