AI-Assisted Research Competency in Secondary Education: A Framework for Epistemic Agency, Authorship and Responsible Knowledge Production

Synthesis: Beau, Flaquière, and Lazar (2026) propose AI-Assisted Research Competency (AARC), an integrated capacity to conduct inquiry with generative AI without surrendering authorship, judgment, verification, or intellectual responsibility. Grounded in virtue epistemology, AI literacy, and AI intuition, AARC comprises seven teachable dimensions that develop from guided foundation through cross-domain transfer to autonomous inquiry. The framework translates the construct into an analytic rubric, a five-step decision routine, and three recurring commitments — verify, cite, and reflect — and is illustrated through a design case in upper-school courses. It offers secondary educators a concrete scaffold for responsible knowledge production in an AI-augmented era.

The Problem

Generative AI can support student research while obscuring whether learners actually performed the intellectual work an inquiry was meant to develop. This obscures the link between submitted work and student capability, and raises new questions about responsible knowledge production in education.

The AARC Framework

AARC defines the capacity to conduct inquiry with AI without relinquishing epistemic agency. It is grounded in virtue epistemology, AI literacy, and AI intuition, and comprises seven teachable dimensions that progress from a guided foundation, through cross-domain transfer, to autonomous inquiry. It is operationalized as an analytic rubric, a five-step decision routine, and three recurring commitments: verify, cite, and reflect.

Implications for Teaching

A design case across upper-school courses shows how teachers can scaffold tool selection, source verification, synthesis, disclosure, and reflective defense. AARC thus gives secondary teachers a structured way to build critical, responsible research skills while reflecting on their own use of AI — bridging AI literacy and academic integrity in practice.

Connected Concepts

• AI Literacy
• Academic Integrity
• Agency
• Metacognition
• Generative AI
• K 12
• Critical Thinking
• Scaffolding

Connected Articles

• Prober AI Inquiry Writing — AI-Assisted Inquiry Writing
• Guided Inquiry GenAI Course Policy 2026 — Guided Inquiry and GenAI Course Policy
• Chan Rethinking Aigiarism Secondary Integrity 2026 — Rethinking AIGiarism and Secondary Integrity
• AI Literacy Heptagon 2026 — The AI Literacy Heptagon
• Preservice Teacher Agency GenAI Design Learning 2026 — Preservice Teacher Agency in GenAI Design

Citation

Beau, A., Flaquière, D., & Lazar, G. (2026). AI-Assisted Research Competency in Secondary Education: A Framework for Epistemic Agency, Authorship and Responsible Knowledge Production. EdArXiv preprint.