Broadly defined, Dr. Johnson’s research interests include pre-college access programs, historically black colleges and universities, students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, and high-achieving students of color. This scholarship, both qualitative and quantitative in nature, examines intersections of race, class, and gender with a focus on how institutional contexts shape college access, experiences, and outcomes among Black students. In 2014, Dr. Johnson launched a large-scale qualitative research project focusing on the college choice motivations, collegiate experiences, and outcomes of HBCU alumni.
High achieving African American male students face a number of challenges navigating the educatio... more High achieving African American male students face a number of challenges navigating the educational pipeline. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been lauded for providing nurturing and culturally affirming environments for its students, yet little is known about the role they play in promoting the college access and degree attainment of high achieving African American male students. Findings from interviews with 19 African American male alumni from nine institutions indicate that early experiences grappling with negative stereotypes associated with Black male achievement strongly influenced their decisions to attend an HBCU. The HBCU, through its campus environment, fostered opportunities for positive interactions that were shown to be important in the academic, personal, and professional development of African American male students. Findings from this study provide insights into the ways HBCUs can recruit and retain the high achieving Black males enrolled at their institutions.
This literature review provides a summary of the sexual risk literature focused on black college ... more This literature review provides a summary of the sexual risk literature focused on black college students and identifies some of the risk factors associated with African American women attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The review included analysis of scholarly work and web-based data with an emphasis on studies exploring the sexual behaviors of students attending HBCUs published between 2000 and 2016. The results indicated that social norms, religiosity, gender ratio imbalances on campus, and perceived STD risk remain important factors associated with the sexual behaviors of African American women at HBCUs. Black college students in general and African American women specifically remain underrepresented and understudied in the research focused on sexual risk behaviors. The review suggests that additional empirical studies are needed to examine the sexual behaviors of African American college women as well as the programs in place at HBCUs to increase student knowledge about STIs.
This chapter highlights some of the extant literature on LGBT students at Historically Black coll... more This chapter highlights some of the extant literature on LGBT students at Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and discusses some of the challenges they encounter at these institutions. Furthermore, it offers recommendations to help HBCUs be more intentional about creating a more affirming and inclusive campus environment for LGBT students.
This qualitative case study sought to highlight the various ways that race, gender, and class int... more This qualitative case study sought to highlight the various ways that race, gender, and class intersects to shape the social experiences of Black working-class women within the context of one Ivy League university.
This paper aims to highlight the potential of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (S... more This paper aims to highlight the potential of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) summer bridge programs to promote college persistence by fostering a positive science identity among participants that is culturally consistent with the values and experiences of African American students.
High achieving African American male students face a number of challenges navigating the educatio... more High achieving African American male students face a number of challenges navigating the educational pipeline. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been lauded for providing nurturing and culturally affirming environments for its students, yet little is known about the role they play in promoting the college access and degree attainment of high achieving African American male students. Findings from interviews with 19 African American male alumni from nine institutions indicate that early experiences grappling with negative stereotypes associated with Black male achievement strongly influenced their decisions to attend an HBCU. The HBCU, through its campus environment, fostered opportunities for positive interactions that were shown to be important in the academic, personal, and professional development of African American male students. Findings from this study provide insights into the ways HBCUs can recruit and retain the high achieving Black males enrolled at their institutions.
This literature review provides a summary of the sexual risk literature focused on black college ... more This literature review provides a summary of the sexual risk literature focused on black college students and identifies some of the risk factors associated with African American women attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The review included analysis of scholarly work and web-based data with an emphasis on studies exploring the sexual behaviors of students attending HBCUs published between 2000 and 2016. The results indicated that social norms, religiosity, gender ratio imbalances on campus, and perceived STD risk remain important factors associated with the sexual behaviors of African American women at HBCUs. Black college students in general and African American women specifically remain underrepresented and understudied in the research focused on sexual risk behaviors. The review suggests that additional empirical studies are needed to examine the sexual behaviors of African American college women as well as the programs in place at HBCUs to increase student knowledge about STIs.
This chapter highlights some of the extant literature on LGBT students at Historically Black coll... more This chapter highlights some of the extant literature on LGBT students at Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and discusses some of the challenges they encounter at these institutions. Furthermore, it offers recommendations to help HBCUs be more intentional about creating a more affirming and inclusive campus environment for LGBT students.
This qualitative case study sought to highlight the various ways that race, gender, and class int... more This qualitative case study sought to highlight the various ways that race, gender, and class intersects to shape the social experiences of Black working-class women within the context of one Ivy League university.
This paper aims to highlight the potential of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (S... more This paper aims to highlight the potential of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) summer bridge programs to promote college persistence by fostering a positive science identity among participants that is culturally consistent with the values and experiences of African American students.
Uploads
Papers by Jennifer M Johnson