The JOHNson Lab (Journeys and Opportunities in Higher and iNternational education) advances comparative, international, and higher education through inclusive and globally engaged research. Its core work centers on culturally grounded educational practices, community collaboration strategies, education abroad and student mobility, and support for first-generation students, all explored through qualitative methods across diverse global settings. By weaving these elements together, the lab fosters more equitable and culturally grounded approaches to education and inquiry worldwide.
JOHNson Research Lab
Who We Are
Advancing Kentucky
In support of the Commonwealth, the JOHNson Lab partners with students, educators, and communities to address locally identified needs through culturally grounded leadership, curricular, and inquiry practices. Drawing on globally informed and comparative perspectives, the lab advances local priorities while strengthening student success, community collaboration, and educational opportunity across Kentucky and beyond. This work contributes directly to the University’s missions of education, engagement, and impact by translating research into practice and fostering more equitable, responsive approaches to learning and leadership.
Learn more about the Advancing Kentucky Together Network online.
Our Team
The JOHNson Lab research team is an interdisciplinary group of researchers who share a commitment to community-engaged inquiry and global learning. Team members work collaboratively on research projects across local and international contexts, partnering with educators, students, institutions, and community organizations to better understand educational experiences and outcomes. Through research, mentoring, and applied scholarship, the team supports student success, culturally grounded practice, and globally engaged approaches to education across the lifespan.
Kayla Johnson, Ph.D.
Director, JOHNson Lab
Dr. Kayla Johnson is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation. She serves as Associate Director of the Office of Higher Education Research and as Director of the JOHNson Lab (Journeys and Opportunities in Higher and iNternational education).
In her research, she uses visual, student voice, action, and community-engaged methods to explore issues related to learning, development, and social justice in higher and international education. Dr. Johnson’s most recent projects have explored: 1) study abroad opportunities for first-generation college students, 2) the influence of access to postsecondary education on the identity development of rural first-generation Indigenous students, 3) the impact of Covid-19 on teaching and learning opportunities for Indigenous youth in the Peruvian Andes, 4) the impact of international community engagement and service learning programs on developing students as global change agents, and 5) collaboratively developing culturally-grounded e-learning opportunities with rural Indigenous communities. In 2016, she co-founded Centro Educativo Pallata Ayllu (Pallata Community Education Center), a non-governmental organization that facilitates access to culturally-grounded and community-driven educational opportunities for Indigenous children and adults in the Peruvian Andes.
Jason Hope
Student Research Team Member
Jason Hope serves as Director of Global Risk and Strategic Operations at the University of Kentucky and has worked in international education for nearly 15 years. He serves as the institution’s primary international crisis manager and is also responsible for supporting the implementation of the institution’s strategic plan for internationalization. He has served on the boards of Pulse International, AIFS Abroad, and the Kentucky Chapter of the Fulbright Association, as chair of NAFSA’s Education Abroad Health and Safety Subcommittee, and as a member of the OSAC Academia Sector’s Steering Committee. He regularly presents both domestically and internationally on issues related to international higher education risk management and has been interviewed on topics in the field by publications ranging from Inside Higher Ed to The Wall Street Journal. He holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration and bachelor’s degrees in International Relations and Spanish, all from the University of Kentucky, and is currently enrolled in a PhD program in Higher Education where his research interest focuses on the ways that students from Appalachia approach the decision to study abroad.
Anne-Marie Tortolano Wilson
Student Research Team Member
Anne-Marie Tortolano Wilson is an international student in her final semester of the Master’s degree program in Higher Education. She currently serves as a Research Assistant with the Evaluation Center. Her research interests focus on literacy education and educational equity, with particular attention to how instructional practices, educational policy, and community contexts shape literacy outcomes for marginalized and underrepresented learners.
Junior Doccy
Student Research Team Member
Junior Doccy is a Doctoral student in Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky and currently serves as a Research Assistant with the Evaluation Center. He holds an MBA, a graduate certificate in Research Methods, and a Bachelor of Science in Education. His research interests focus on faculty experiences, particularly how daily work expectations, institutional culture, and recognition practices shape job satisfaction.
Current Research
Explore First: Supporting First-Generation Students’ Career Exploration through Study Abroad
This mixed-methods project examines the design, implementation, and impact of a study abroad program intentionally focused on career exploration and readiness for first-generation college students. Drawing on surveys, interviews, participant observation, and reflective writing across multiple program cycles, the study investigates how identity-responsive, culturally grounded programming shapes students’ career aspirations, professional skill development, and confidence navigating workplace cultures. Beyond career outcomes, the project also explores how participation influences students’ intercultural competence, sense of belonging, and evolving understandings of self. Findings inform more equitable approaches to education abroad that position first-generation students’ assets, experiences, and goals at the center of global learning and career development initiatives.
Yachay Ayni: Reimagining Education in Rural Indigenous Communities in Peru
This multi-year CBPAR project collaboratively considers Indigenized possibilities for education in Peru. "Yachay ayni", or learning through reciprocity, reflects Indigenous (Quechua) values that guide both the research processes and ideal outcomes of this study, which mobilizes community knowledge into curricular content. Working alongside rural Indigenous educators, families, and community leaders, the project centers local epistemologies, languages, and cultural practices as foundational to teaching and learning. Through participatory qualitative methods, the study co-develops contextually grounded curricula and pedagogical strategies that respond to community priorities while strengthening educational relevance, sustainability, and self-determination.
Salir Adelante Disrupted: Exploring the Impact of Covid-19 on Educational Trajectories of Rural Indigenous Youth in the Peruvian Andes
This mixed-methods study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the educational aspirations, pathways, and outcomes of Indigenous students in the rural highlands of the Peruvian Andes. “Salir adelante”, or to get ahead, is a frequently expressed goal among Indigenous youth, yet even prior to the pandemic, opportunities to do so were constrained by structural inequities, limited educational resources, and geographic isolation. COVID-19 intensified these challenges, disrupting schooling, widening access gaps, and altering students’ relationships to education. This project explores how the pandemic affected educational opportunity, how students, schools, and communities responded to these disruptions, and how Indigenous youth now understand their futures, aspirations, and possibilities in a post-pandemic context.
Presentations and Publications
- Kayla M. Johnson & Joseph Levitan. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2025.2510939. 2025, online first. Rural Indigenous students’ pathways to and through Peruvian institutos: An ecological systems analysis. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education.
- Kayla M. Johnson.https://doi.org/10.1177/17461979231197410. 2025. Destination: Wokeness? Possibilities of domestic educational travel as conscientizing praxis. Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice.
- Kayla M. Johnson & Joseph Levitan. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20492. 2023. Oppositionally-intertwined ecologies: A single-system, multi-theory mapping of marginalized students’ experiences. New Directions for Higher Education.
- Susan M. Roberts, Ray Clere, Stephen Farley, Kayla Gill, Beth Hanneman, Kayla M. Johnson, Jimmie Jones, Niamh Larsen, Martina Martin, Allison Peoples, Kirsten Turner, & Marianne Young. https://doi.org/10.1080/26906015.2024.2385380. 2025. Lessons learned from a career-readiness education abroad program for first-generation undergraduates. Journal of First-Generation Student Success.
- Joseph Levitan & Kayla M. Johnson. https://doi.org/10.1086/706921. 2020. Salir adelante: Collaboratively developing culturally-grounded curriculum with marginalized communities. American Journal of Education.
Latest News
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Advancing Kentucky Together: First-gen student to ‘Great Teacher.’
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2025. UKNow.
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Explore First: Study Abroad Outcomes for First-Gen College Students.
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2025. AIFS Abroad.
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2017. Penn State News
Contact Us
We welcome inquiries about our research, partnerships, and opportunities.
Email: kayla.johnson@uky.edu
Address: 134A Taylor Education Building