Tara Star Johnson
Program Convener/Director of English Education & Associate Professor
Literacy and LanguageCurriculum and Instruction
- Ph.D. — Language Education, University of Georgia (2005)
- M.A. — English Education, University of Georgia (2001)
- B.A. — English, Grand Valley State University (1993)
- 2010 – Present
Associate Professor of English Education
English & Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- 2006 – 2010
Assistant Professor of English Education
English & Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- 2005 – 2006
Temporary Full-Time Assistant Professor
Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading
Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
- 2000 – 2005
Research Assistant
University of Georgia, Athens, GA
- 2000 – 2003
Teaching Assistant
Department of Language and Literacy Education
College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
- 1994 – 2000
English & Science Teacher, 9th-12th grades
Newaygo High School, Newaygo Public Schools, Newaygo, MI
- 1990 – 1993
Writing Tutor
The Writing Center, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
Dr. Johnson’s research trajectory includes two separate but related phases; though topically distinct, they share a common theme of social justice in education. Her early-career focus was on sexual dynamics in the classroom, resulting in a book and multiple journal articles stemming from three studies. The first examined how pre-service English teachers dealt with issues of embodiment in their classrooms; the second analyzed how and why secondary teachers “crossed the line” by having a sexual relationship with a student; and the third investigated the racial and community dynamics at work in a South Carolina school district plagued by three incidents of sexual misconduct. Though this body of scholarship still informs Dr. Johnson’s teaching, her research has taken a deliberate turn toward the scholarship of engagement. Deeply concerned about the current state of k-12 education, she is studying the process and politics behind the development of standards and high-stakes assessment in Indiana and writ large. She hopes to be of service to the beleaguered teachers and administrators with whom she has cultivated both research and teaching relationships by demystifying the policy climate affecting their schools.
Selected Publications
- Johnson, T. S. (2010). Crossing the line: When pedagogical relationships go awry. Teachers College Record, 112(8), 2021-2066.
- Johnson, T. S. (2010). Practice what you preach: A personal and pedagogical social justice policy. In s.j. Miller & D. Kirkland (Eds.), Change matters: Critical essays on moving social justice research from theory to policy (pp. 33-40). New York: Peter Lang.
- Johnson, T. S. (2009). Performing “teacher”: Case study of a National Board Certified teacher. English Education, 41(2) 158-176.
- Johnson, T. S. (2008). From teacher to lover: Sex scandals in the classroom. New York: Peter Lang.
- Johnson, T. S. (2008). Qualitative research in question: A narrative of disciplinary power with/in the IRB. Qualitative Inquiry, 14(2), 212-232.
- Johnson, T. S. (2006). Performing a/ sexual teacher: The Cartesian duality in education. The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 28, 253-256.
- Johnson, T. S. (2005). The “problem” of bodies and desires in teaching. Teaching Education, 16(2), 131-149.
- Johnson, T. S., Bruce, M., Graham, P., Oliver, S., Oppong, N., Park, S., & Mansberger, D. (2005). Giving Tree Teachers: Women and the National Board certification process. Feminist Teacher, 15(3), 234-249.
- Johnson, T. S. (2004). “I secretly relished that delicious feeling of excitement”: A rhizoanalysis of teacher-student attraction. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 8(2), 83-95.
- Johnson, T. S. (2004). “It’s pointless to deny that that dynamic that is there”: Sexual tensions in secondary classrooms. English Education, 37(1), 5-2
- EDCI 42200 — Teaching English in Secondary Schools
- EDCI 43400 — Secondary Literacy
- EDCI 49800F — Supervised Teaching of English Education (Student Teaching Seminar)
- EDCI 61300 — Teaching Bodies: A Gendered Perspective of the Language Arts Classroom
