Chris Osmand

Dr. Chris Osmand

Professor, Educational Foundations, Faculty Lead, James Center for Student Success and Advising
Email
osmond@appstate.edu
Phone
828-262-7754

Office address
426 C
College of Education Building

Biography

Dr. Osmond (he/him/él) is trained in curriculum theory. He teaches epistemology, methods, and curriculum theory to doctoral students; social foundations of education to undergraduates; and burnout prevention and sustainable caring practice in the Honors College and beyond.

He is deeply committed to preparing caring professionals for long, thriving careers—particularly teachers and educational leaders. Dr. Osmond questions the framing of education as a “profession,” favoring the concept of “vocation” to better capture its meaning and purpose.

His work emphasizes burnout prevention, which he argues is more accurately understood as “demoralization,” reflecting systemic challenges rather than individual shortcomings. He draws on insights from fields such as medical education to inform more sustainable approaches within education.

Assists With

  • Internships
  • Qualifying Exams
  • Dissertation Committee Formation

Education/Degrees

  • Ph.D., Culture, Curriculum, and Change, School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC. 2006.
  • M.A., Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education, School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA. 2000.
  • Klingenstein Summer Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY. 1995.
  • B.A., English and Spanish, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. 1993.

Research Areas

  • Social foundations of education
  • Curriculum theory
  • Educational leadership
  • Sustainable practice

  • Selected Publications

  • McNulty, M., & Osmond, C. (eds). (2019). Theme Issue: Curriculum of the Monstrous. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, Vol. 34, No. 5.
  • Osmond, C. (2019). Time to Die: Zombie as Educational Evolution in The Girl with All the Gifts. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, Vol. 34, No. 5.
  • Osmond, C. (2019). Robert L. Hampel’s “Fast and Curious: A History of Shortcuts in American Education.” Teachers College Record.
  • Osmond, C. (2017). Scheherazade and the Axe: Narrative Medicine, the Apocalypse, and The Way Through. In V. Miller (Ed.), Educational Leadership on the Brink.

Academic Field

  • Leadership and Educational Studies

Professional Organizations

  • The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED)
    Journal of Curriculum Theorizing (JCT)