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Students who experience high wellbeing are better able to develop and perform. Personal resources can contribute to experiencing wellbeing and interventions can be used to develop them. However, it is not yet sufficiently clear what such interventions should look like to be effective. Therefore, this study focuses on formulating design principles for interventions aimed at developing four personal resources of honors students: self-efficacy, optimism, inquiry mindedness, and self-regulation. Data were collected in focus groups. Data showed that design principles for interventions to develop those four personal resources differ somewhat, but in common they combine group and individual activities, students are taught basic skills to help them directing their own development, they have an ongoing character and consist of recurring activities. The design principles can be used to design interventions to enhance honors students’ personal resources. Further research is needed into the design and effects of these interventions and possible generalisation.

Honors education has ascended as an integral element within the sphere of global higher education, concentrating on fostering individuals who exhibit creativity and a history of innovative achievements. Despite its widespread adoption, there remains a scarcity of exhaustive longitudinal studies investigating its effects and associated variables. To address this shortcoming, this study deploys rigorous structural equation modeling (SEM) and linear regression analyses to meticulously examine a dataset comprising 319 students, who enrolled over a decade (2011-2021) in a prestigious honors college at a preeminent university in China. The primary objective is to discern the predictive efficacy of Chinese honors education selection criteria on students' creative and academic accomplishments. This endeavor strives to clarify the complex interplay among students' creative personalities, academic performance, creative achievements, and standardized college entrance exam scores. The findings emphasize that individuals who exhibit enhanced creative personality traits are predisposed to elevated levels of both innovation and academic attainment (β = 0.170, p = 0.017). Additionally, a significant inverse relationship is observed between general learning aptitude and subsequent academic performance (β = -0.008, p = 0.023), while students pursuing science disciplines demonstrate superior innovation outcomes compared to their liberal arts counterparts (β = 0.125, p = 0.048). Interestingly, neither gender nor general academic prowess exerts significant predictive power over collegiate innovation (β = -0.002, p = 0.134). These empirical insights equip policymakers and scholars with nuanced perspectives on the determinants shaping students' refined educational experiences, thereby inciting critical discourse concerning the refinement of selection criteria and the imperative of nurturing students' creative proclivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher classroom behavior is an important factor in student learning and motivation. Past research within higher education has primarily concentrated on identifying teaching behaviors that teachers and students deem important in honors classrooms. Yet, what specific teaching behaviors either support or thwart the needs of students in real-world honors classrooms is currently not clear. This study, which utilizes video observation, sheds light on teaching behaviors that either support or thwart students’ needs, as viewed through the lens of self-determination theory, within the context of Dutch honors education. We developed an observation tool to analyze video recordings of 12 lessons from four different teachers, and identified the types of behaviors making up the various dimensions of need-supportive and need-thwarting behaviors. We found nine types of behaviors that had not previously been identified in observational studies. Structure-providing behaviors were the most common need-supportive behavior, while need-thwarting behaviors always occurred alongside need-supportive behaviors. The observation tool introduced here can be used for further study of teaching behaviors in honors education practice. These results also make an important contribution to teachers' further professionalization and instructional practices.

Many institutions of higher education offer honors education, but research on teacher behavior in honors classes is scarce. Our aim is to gain deeper understanding of how teachers adapt their teaching practices in the honors classroom as compared with the regular classroom. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 Dutch teachers who teach in both types of classroom. Using self-determination theory as an analytical framework, we found that teachers supported the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in both settings in order to promote intrinsic motivation. However, there were differences in how and why these behaviors were enacted. Teachers had different ways of expressing basic psychological needs. In the regular classroom, the main focus of the teachers is on preparing students to become autonomous professionals, whereas in the honors classroom, the main focus is on personal development and individual learning.

Drawing upon my own experience as an educator, I describe and reflect upon my experiential learning-pedagogical process of transforming my fall 2020 Zoom-based honors interpersonal communication course in which my students traversed through a series of experiential learning activities called Interpersonal Enrichment Journeys. Quantitative and written data revealed that students achieved desired learning outcomes and strengthened much-needed interpersonal connections despite the circumstances and stressors induced by the pandemic. Interpersonal Enrichment Journeys can be replicated to maximize the features of quality online courses identified by Kaufman and Vallade (2022), such as helping students develop personal connections in a positive learning climate and ensuring that “students are getting the information and interaction they need to be successful” (p. 153).

Despite the utility of cognitive interviews, very few studies report on the practical application of this survey design procedure. Likewise, very few studies querying perceptions of honors education incorporate valid survey items that reflect the views of students of color who are eligible yet opt out of participation. We respond to these areas of inquiry by describing the development of survey items that explore why students would opt out of honors education in collegiate settings and may identify unintentional institutional barriers that prevent the participation of marginalized groups. We report on the process and outcomes of cognitive interviews used to refine our survey tool and the categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) that not only provided additional refinements but also revealed the underlying two-component structure of the instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CoTalent project is a unique collaboration between eight universities (of applied sciences) throughout Europe funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission. The objective of the CoTalent project was to use co-creation with teachers and students in order to create tools that would support higher education to foster and recognize talented students. Three toolsets were made with a total of around 920 students and teachers via workshop weeks and so-called multiplier event. This current research projects the impact of the student participants through a social network theory perspective to look at what the co-creation of the CoTalent project can do for them in their professional career (including their education). By conducting eight interviews with the student participants, it became clear the CoTalent network was a unique network that shares the characteristics of both strong- and weak ties. The members involved were of many cultures and origins but simultaneously of a similar mindset which made for a fertile network in terms of productivity to complete the tasks at hand and in terms of the student participant their experience. The participating students mainly experienced growth in soft skills and gained new perspectives through the diverse set of actors involved.

This study was explorative and aimed at in-depth understanding of personal resources students use to reach success, in the demanding context of honours education. Becoming successful in higher education demands a lot from students. Considering the Job Demands-Resources model it is expected that personal resources help students succeed. We explore which personal resources benefit students’ performance in demanding contexts of honours education. Using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, we asked thirteen honours students of three institutions which personal resources had helped them to achieve success. Results suggest that honours students use different personal resources. Most frequently mentioned resources could be grouped around five themes: self-directiveness, inquiry-mindedness, perseverance, social involvement and motivation. Especially resources in the themes self-directiveness, inquiry-mindedness and perseverance were perceived as important facilitators for educational success. The outcomes may inform interventions to help students develop personal resources needed to handle high educational demands. Further research is needed to identify the most effective interventions.

The COVID-19 pandemic quickly converted classes to an online format in the middle of the academic semester at South Dakota State University (SDSU), USA. Our objectives were 1) to identify factors affecting student learning and connectivity following this transition and 2) to evaluate differences between honors and non-honors students. Students (n=230) were surveyed with Likert-type, descriptive, and open-ended questions about their experiences following the transition. Clear, frequent communication between students and SDSU was identified as the most appreciated aspect of SDSU’s response. Students who reported struggling academically following the transition were more likely to be facing difficulties with finances and access to or use of online learning technology. Honors students reported fewer technology barriers and financial stressors than non-honors students. Degree completion and social connections were driving the desire to return to face-to-face classes, but this enthusiasm was dampened by COVID-19-related health concerns. Communication, structure, and flexibility were identified as factors affecting student success.

In honors education, creating a community of talented and ambitious students is a goal of primary importance. Honors sessions at international conferences contribute to globalization of the honors community and offer opportunities for starting the dialogue between honors students of different universities and diverse academic fields. The current note provides insight into the discussion at the honors session organized by SibFU Honors College at the international students’ conference “Prospect Svobodny 2019” at the premises of Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The author describes the results of the interdisciplinary research activities presented at the session by honors students from Texas Christian University, Western Michigan University, University of New Mexico, Lamar University, and Siberian Federal University. The note reveals how the honors students’ sessions become forums for reflecting on the value of learner agency and also for exploring the areas of prospective collaboration in interdisciplinary research for honors students worldwide.

Many colleges profess a deep commitment to teaching the values of social justice by simply following laws and then using compliance as evidence of building inclusive community. This essay considers practical outcomes for the authentic and compassionate teaching of social justice issues by presenting two (2018 and 2019) seven-week honors offerings that examine minimally stipulated laws and the ways they are enacted by encouraging students to engage in contemporary and historical discourses on the subject. Challenging honors educators to reexamine legal philosophies, historical precedence, and their role in the academy, the author argues for the moral obligation of honors to lead institutions through paradigmatic shifts in teaching social justice and activism. A description of curriculum is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College at South Dakota State University (SDSU), undergraduate teaching assistants (TAs) are engaged to mentor small groups of students in our first-year Honors Orientation classes. These near-peer guided small groups simulate the benefits of smaller classes within larger sections and promote relationship building within honors. To assess the value of having teaching assistants in these classes, we surveyed both the students enrolled in Honors Orientation as well as the undergraduate TAs. Students felt that relationships, academic support, and smaller group sizes were benefits of TAs in the classroom. The TAs believed the relationships they formed with other students were the primary benefit to their experience, along with growth in teaching and mentoring skills. These results indicate our teaching assistants are important connections between first-year students and the Fishback Honors College.

Faculty and administrators often present risk-taking as something honors students must do, but rarely do they take risks themselves . In an ideal situation, communal risk-taking would subvert institutional power dynamics, free students from grade-associated anxiety, and enable them to build dynamic partnerships with faculty. This paper discusses how one honors college piloted self-grading in the second semester of its first-year seminar as a mechanism of liberatory learning for both faculty and students. While self-grading was originally intended to provide increased freedom for risk-taking, in truth it led to increased anxiety in students and high levels of frustration for faculty. This pilot program demonstrated the underlying flaws in the concept of risk-taking and ultimately failed . Although faculty may have good intentions, simply removing grades does not remove internalized, perceived judgment. Real risk-taking requires all parties to participate with enthusiasm and to adapt when necessary in order to be successful. While self-grading did not accomplish its original aims, the process demonstrated previously underappreciated underlying cultural tensions that fundamentally affect student and faculty freedom and risk-taking, displaying how deeply entrenched the social mores are for honors faculty and students, as well as how much work is left to encourage risk-taking by both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chu Kochen Honors College (CKC) offers a series of honors programs for talented and motivated students from all academic disciplines of Zhejiang University (ZJU). The Honors Programs offer both general education and interdisciplinary learning. Through the customized curriculum and interdisciplinary training, honors students will be required to push themselves academically and strive for excellence. Students enrolled in honors programs are encouraged to become independent thinkers and creative problem solvers.

Risk-taking in honors education entails not only anxiety about grades and intellectually disturbing ideas but also painful emotional responses to course materials. Rather than censoring such "dangerous" materials, faculty should compassionately encourage vulnerable students to acknowledge their pain safely in an open and accepting classroom atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, U.S. postsecondary sorting is best evidenced by an increasingly stratified system of higher education. However, very little attention is paid to even deeper levels of stratification within colleges and universities where academic tracking and its consequences are manifest. Given this significant lack of attention to deepening levels of stratification within many of the most “accessible” postsecondary institutions in the U.S., the purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to introduce readers to the notion of academic tracking within the postsecondary sector, (2) to situate honors education within the U.S. postsecondary tracking structure, and (3) to demonstrate the depths of stratification within a system that is lauded as the contemporary architect of social mobility. Based upon qualitative data collected during the 2016–2017 academic year at one public 4-year “accessible” university, findings illustrate the persistence, structure, and depths of stratification as an unintended consequence of one university’s efforts to reconcile the competing goals of excellence and equity.

Copyright of Journal of Nanjing Normal University / Nanjing Shi Da Xue Bao (She Hui Ke Xue Ban) is the property of Nanjing Shifan Daxue and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The changing demographics of the nursing workforce, including large numbers of impending retirements, highlight the need for innovative programs to attract the next generation of nursing leaders, educators, and researchers. Nursing honors programs provide an enhanced educational experience for high-achieving and highly motivated students, developing them as future nursing leaders. This review describes the current perspectives, characteristics, and values of nursing honors programs, opportunities for implementation, and recommendations for integration within nursing education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Honors education has the potential to serve as the foundation for reform of undergraduate education. Calls for reform during the last three decades have not resulted in change, in large measure because of the failure to engage the faculty and students in the effort. While prescriptions for change have abounded, conditions on campus and within society at large have not proven favorable. This article suggests that the implementation of Honors education helps to create the conditions supportive of reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]