Dr Chris Osmond, Honors faculty member, associate professor in Appalachian’s Department of Leadership and Educational Studies, and associate director of the Reich College of Education’s doctoral program in educational leadership, is working with Winston-Salem State University in providing a social justice program for future teachers. Dr. Fran Bates Oates ’77 ’79 ’15, director of the Office of Field and Clinical Experiences in WSSU’s Department of Education, established this collaboration between both her alma maters—Appalachian and WSSU. Oates partnered with Appalachian's Dr. Chris Osmond and Dr. Nickolas Jordan, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling.
Osmond teaches Social Foundations of Education to future teachers in the Leadership and Educational Studies program. His research focuses on the use of the humanities ("narrative pedagogy") with teachers, nurses, social workers, and other caring professionals to protect against burnout and help them thrive in their vocations. He also works in the fields of curriculum theory, aesthetics, reading education, and educational policy, especially critical work on the rise of neoliberal models of accountability and the emerging "audit culture" in public education. He shares that, "I love working with Honors students because they're not afraid to 'go there': to find the place where what they discuss in class crosses with what they really care about, and bring that exciting intersection to light to move and improve us all."
Click here for the full story by Jan Todd in AppalachianToday, which begins:
"A new program is helping future educators at two North Carolina universities — Appalachian State University and Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) — look at classrooms in a different way, with the goal of creating an environment in which all students thrive."
