Rethinking Practitioner Research in Honors Education: Epistemological Frontiers and Ethical Dimensions

Department

Honors College, North Carolina A&T State University, 1601 E Market Street, Greensboro, North Carolina, 27411

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

4-17-2026

Abstract

Honors programs and colleges provide academically talented students with enriched learning environments that integrate advanced coursework, faculty-mentored research, global engagement, and leadership development. Yet while honors education often emphasizes student research, the role of practitioner research conducted by honors educators themselves remains underdeveloped as a formal scholarly framework. This presentation argues that practitioner inquiry represents an emerging frontier in honors education scholarship. Drawing on examples from honors programming and instructional innovation, this study examines how practitioner research can function as a reflective and evidence-based approach to improving honors pedagogy and program design. Particular attention is given to the epistemological challenges of defining knowledge production within honors education, as well as the ethical complexities that arise when educators simultaneously serve as instructors, mentors, and researchers within close academic communities. The discussion proposes a conceptual model for practitioner research in honors education that integrates reflective practice, theory-informed inquiry, and programmatic innovation. By positioning honors educators as scholar-practitioners, this approach has the potential to transform honors colleges into laboratories for pedagogical experimentation and institutional innovation.

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