Rate My Professor Chrystal Johnson

Chrystal S. Johnson is Professor of Social Studies Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction within Purdue University’s College of Education. She also holds an affiliated faculty position in African American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts. Recognized for over 20 years of service at Purdue, she was promoted to full professor effective with the 2025-26 academic year. Johnson has demonstrated significant leadership in professional organizations, serving as Past President of both the African American Educators for Social Studies and the Indiana Council for the Social Studies. She has acted as Program Chair and Treasurer for the College and University Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies and currently holds the position of Secretary/Treasurer for the Charters and School Choice Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. As Program Coordinator for Social Studies Education at Purdue, she contributes to teacher preparation and curriculum development.

Johnson’s research interests center on race, culturally consonant pedagogy, character development, civic education, and schools of choice. Her scholarly work, published in top-tier journals, includes contributions to the AERA Handbook of Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers. Notable publications are “Charters as counter publics: Addressing the civic side of charter schooling” (2023, Journal of Social Studies Education Research), “Fostering Civic Readiness: Assessing the Scope and Content of Civics in Middle-Level Social Studies Curricula” (2025, The Social Studies), “Using NAEP to Address the Civic Efficacy of Charter Schools” (2025), “Caring as Classroom Practice” (2009), and “The Rhythms of Swing as Social Dialogue for Children’s Literature” (2010). Her conference presentations have explored Black youth civic engagement in the era of Black Lives Matter, differences in National Assessment of Educational Progress civics results across school types, and identity and motivation in character and citizenship development. Johnson has collaborated on manuscripts addressing school choice decisions among traditionally marginalized populations and leads efforts in Project RISE. Among her honors are the 2021-2022 Purdue Insights Forum Program Fellowship, Purdue University Societal Impact Fellowship, Diversity Fellow in the College of Education, Dean’s Fellow on the Purdue Equity Task Force, and a tie for the 2023 Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Faculty Excellence Award. In 2025, she served as Co-PI on a U.S. Department of Education Dialogue 250 grant to train teachers for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. She teaches social studies methods in elementary and secondary programs and theories and trends in curriculum and instruction in the online master’s program.