Julianna Lopez Kershen

Julianna Lopez Kershen is an Assistant Professor at the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma in the Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum department. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the topics of English language arts and literacy education, instructional improvement, and curriculum studies.

Dr. Kershen earned her Ed.D. in Education Policy, Leadership, and Instructional Practice from Harvard University. As editor of the Oklahoma English Journal, Julianna was awarded the journal affiliate editorial award as a National Council of Teachers of English Journal of Excellence. Previously, Julianna has worked as a researcher, university lecturer, high school English language arts teacher and district-level administrator in Oklahoma and Massachusetts. Julianna is a National Board Certified teacher in Adolescence/Young adult English language arts and received a Fulbright Teacher Scholar Fellowship for study in Tanzania and Kenya.

In 2023, she received an Oklahoma Teacher Connection grant to lead mentoring support for preservice and in-service teachers connected to the Rainbolt College of Education’s teacher education preparation programs. In 2024, Dr. Kershen was selected as one of six fellows for the American Education Research Association-American Institutes for Research Fellowship Program on the Study of Deeper Learning, with generous funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (2024-2025). This research grant supports her inquiry into high school teacher and student conceptions of apprenticeship learning in classroom practice.

Her article, “Magic as Emancipatory in the Magical Realism Novels of Jewell Parker Rhodes” was awarded the 2024 Nilsen-Donaldson Award for excellence in scholarship in the field of YA literature from the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents and the National Council of Teachers of English.

Julianna’s research program focuses on teachers’ and students’ opportunities to learn together and from one another. Dr. Kershen is primarily a qualitative researcher focusing on perspectives and methods of critical textual analysis and investigations into expertise development in classroom teaching, students’ demonstrations of learning, and strengthening mentoring relationships between teachers.

Selected Publications:

Kershen, J. E. (2024). Life-giver, Death-bringer: Instructional Ideas for Exploring Water in the Middle Grades Novel, Ninth Ward. Climate Literacy in Education, 2(2), 40-48.

Kershen, J. E. (2024). Climate Literacy Opportunities and Critique in Paradise on Fire by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Children’s Literature in Education.

Kershen, J. E. (2024) Exploring the Complexities of  Environmental Disaster, Justice, and  Racism in Ninth Ward (Chap. 1). In K. Hinton & K. Chandler (Eds.), Teaching Black Speculative Fiction: Equity, Justice, and Antiracism (pp. 1-15). Routledge Press.

Kershen, J. E. (2023). Magic as emancipatory in the magical realism novels of Jewell Parker Rhodes. The ALAN Review, 51(1), 22-33.

Kershen, J. E., & Hill, C. A. (2023). Provoking the Mentoring Teacher: Examining Teaching Interactions Through Dialogic Self-Study. In J. DeHart (Ed.), Phenomenological Studies in Education (pp. 63-84). IGI Global.

Kershen, J. E. (2022). When mentoring falls apart: Exploring the complexities of establishing mutually respectful mentoring relationships. Oklahoma English Journal, 35(2).

Kershen, J. E. (2022). Graphic narratives as opportunities for professional learning: A sociocognitive complexity reading of the graphic novel Queen of the Sea. Study and Scrutiny: Research in Young Adult Literature, 5(2).

Raymond, K., Beach, S., & Kershen, J. E. (2022). Social justice education in an international and interdisciplinary service-learning experience. Journal of Service-Learning in Higher Education, 15.

Donaldson, M., Weiner, J., & Kershen, J. E., (2022). Who Speaks for Teachers? Teachers’ Voice and Teacher Unions in a New Era. In D. D'Amico Pawlewicz (Ed.), Walkout: Teacher Militancy, Activism, and School Reform, pp. 85-103. Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Kershen, J. E. (2020).  Complex Bodies, Complex Decisions: Female Sexuality in Judy Blume’s Forever… In V. Malo-Juvera & C. Hill (Eds.), Canonical Young Adult Literature: Criticism & Critique, pp. 119-136. Routledge Press

Grant Work:

Kershen, J. E. (2024). Alternative Textbook Grant from OU Libraries. Grant to create freely available course materials for EDEN 4914, Fall 2024 implementation. (funded).

Kershen, J. E. (PI). (2024-2025). AERA Study of Deeper Learning Fellowship Grant. Project: Articulating Apprenticeship Learning in the SDL Classroom Products Dataset. Funded through AERA-AIR partnership with the William T. & Flora Hewlett Foundation. 2023-2025 (funded).

Kershen, J. E. (2024). AERA Division K Pre-Conference Early Career Faculty Seminar Participant. Competitive selection process to participate in pre-conference seminar. AERA, Division K April 2024. (award)

Kershen, J. E. & Hill, C. (2024). Global Education Research Grant to co-design UK Study Abroad Program. Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, January 2024 (funded).

Kershen, J. E. (PI). (2023). Expanding Capacity for Integrated Success, OK Teacher Connection Collegiate Grant 2023-2024, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. (funded).

Kershen, J. E. (2023). Faculty Researcher and Sponsor, OU Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Summer Fellowship, Faculty research sponsor with Helena Walker, Project title: Switch the Narrative: Supporting Students in the Wake of Tragedy Through Literature. May-August 2023 (funded).

Kershen, J. E. (2023). JRCOE Faculty Summer Research Grant. Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education. Project: Bringing the Literature of the Forever Wars into the Secondary Classroom. (funded).

Kershen, J. E. (2022). Micro-grant from the Carceral Studies Consortium, University of Oklahoma. Projected funded: Observation or Surveillance? Tensions in Educator Responsibility. (funded).