Kelly C. Johnston, Ed.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Kelly C. Johnston is an associate professor in the School of Education at Baylor University. Dr. Johnston's program of research examines how children and youth engage with literacy across contexts and the implications for literacy development and wellbeing in underserved communities. Her research seeks to produce more equitable and just opportunities for children and youth whose cultural, linguistic, racial-ethnic, and neurodiverse identities and practices have been marginalized through formal education.
Along with her project on reimagining schooled literacies, Dr. Johnston is currently examining the integration of literacy with physical activity and health as well integration of literacy across content areas through inquiry-based learning.
Dr. Johnston’s recent scholarship can be found in Unsettling Literacies: Directions for Literacy Research in Precarious Times (Eds. C. Lee,, C. Bailey, C. Burnett, and J. Rowsell) and The Handbook of Critical Literacies (Eds. J. Zacher, R. Mora, J. Alford, N. Golden, R. de Roock), as well as academic journals, such as Language Arts, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, English Teaching: Practice & Critique, and The Teacher Educator.
Dr. Johnston was recently awarded the Innovation in Teaching and Learning Award by the Education Deans of Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas.
Dr. Johnston teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. Before coming to Baylor, Dr. Johnston taught graduate courses at Teachers College, Columbia University, and at The City College of New York while working as a research fellow in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University.
If you are interested in pursuing a funded graduate research fellowship with Dr. Johnston, please email her directly: Kelly_Johnston@Baylor.edu
Degrees
Ed.D. Curriculum and Teaching
2018 | Teachers College, Columbia University
M.Ed. Reading Education
2011 | Texas State University
B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies
2004 | Baylor University
Research Interests
- Literacy in schools and communities
- Integrating literacy pedagogy in alternative contexts and spaces
- Critical literacies
- Sociomaterial, sociocultural, and affective approaches to literacy engagement
Select Publications
- The Teacher Educator, 2022
"Inquiry-based teacher writing groups as sites for professional learning and restorying identities"
with co-authors Dr. Amy Tondreau, University of Maryland Baltimore - The Handbook of Critical Literacies, 2021
"Proposing a politics of immediation for literacy studies, or what is possible for literacy studies beyond critical theory’s mediations?"
with co-authors Dr. Christian Ehret, McGill University, and Jennifer Rowsell, University of Bristol. - Digital Cultures and Education, Vol. 14, Issue 2, p. 18-26, 2022
"Dis/comforting shelfies: Travelling literacies other-wise in disrupted times"
with co-authors Dr. Amelie Lemieux, University of Montreal, and Fiona Scott, The University of Sheffield. - The Reading Teacher, Vol. 75, Issue 2, p. 169-177, 2021
"Refining literacy pedagogy through practitioner inquiry partnerships"
with co-authors Dr. Tracy Harper, Texas A&M Corpus Christi. - Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 2021
"From New York City to the World: Examining Critical Global Literacies in an English Language Arts Classroom"
with co-author(s) Dr. Lakeya Omogun, University of Texas, and Crystal Lee, North Carolina State University
Awards & Honors
- Innovation in Teaching and Learning Award - 2022 | Education Deans of Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas
- John Laska Dissertation Award in Teaching - 2020 | American Association for Curriculum and Teaching
- Emerging Scholar Fellowship Award - 2019 | The Reading Hall of Fame
- Timothy & Cynthia Shanahan Outstanding Dissertation Finalist - 2019 | International Literacy Association
Professional Leadership
- Board of Directors, at-large, Texas Association of Literacy Educators
- Board Member, Directed Energy
Courses
- Contemporary Curriculum for Young Children (EDC 5323)
- Independent Study: Multimodality and Literacy
- Independent Study: Critical Literacies
- Comprehension of Expository Texts (TED 4303)
- Literacy, Equity, and Students’ Lives (EDC 5312)
- Social Issues in Education (TED 3380)
- Independent Study: Literacy Innovations across Content Areas
- Curriculum Inquiry and Analysis (EDC 6312)