He earned his B.A. at the College of William and Mary, Masters degrees at the London School of Economics and Oxford University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Princeton University.

Macedo began his teaching career with the Harvard University Government Department. Next, he held the Michael O. Sawyer chair at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University, before taking the position he currently holds at Princeton University.

He writes and teaches on political theory, ethics, American constitutionalism, and public policy, with an emphasis on liberalism, justice, and the roles of schools, civil society, and public policy in promoting citizenship. He served as founding director of Princeton’s Program in Law and Public Affairs (1999-2001). He recently served as vice president of the American Political Science Association and Chair of its first standing committee on Civic Education and Engagement, and in this capacity he is principal co-author of Democracy at Risk: Public Policy and the Renewal of American Citizenship.