scholarly journals Student and faculty perceptions of, and experiences with, academic dishonesty at a medium-sized Canadian university

Author(s):  
Oluwagbohunmi Awosoga ◽  
Christina M. Nord ◽  
Stephanie Varsanyi ◽  
Randall Barley ◽  
Jeff Meadows

AbstractThere is a paucity of research into the prevalence of academic dishonesty within Canada compared to other countries. Recently, there has been a call for a better understanding of the particular characteristics of educational integrity in Canada so that Canada can more meaningfully contribute to current discussions surrounding academic integrity. Here, we present findings from student (N = 1142) and faculty (N = 130) surveys conducted within a medium-sized (~ 8700 students) Canadian university. These surveys probed perceptions towards, and experiences with, academic dishonesty, in which we aimed to understand how students and faculty regarded academically dishonest practices during their postsecondary careers. We also aimed to understand how often students engaged in, and faculty had witnessed, academic dishonesty, whether or not witnessing incidents of academic dishonesty corresponded with gender, year of experience, highest level of educational attainment, discipline, or their personal perceptions towards the importance of academic honesty, and whether students had been adequately taught what constitutes academic dishonesty. We found that an overwhelming majority of students viewed academic honesty as important, and that most students reported not engaging in academic dishonesty themselves despite 45.8% reporting that they had witnessed others engage in academic dishonesty. We also found that students were more likely to witness cheating as their postsecondary experience increased, that witnessing varied across disciplines and educational attainment, and that witnessing varied with student perceptions. However, we found no such patterns in faculty responses, but found that faculty are split on whether or not they believe incidents of academic honesty are increasing.

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 205
Author(s):  
Syamsul Bahri ◽  
Ika Kana Trisnawati

This study aimed to investigate the student perceptions of plagiarism and the reasons that led to plagiarism in the students’ assignments. The population of the study included the students of English Education Department at UIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh, with 166 students randomly selected as the sample. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for collecting data. The data were then analyzed with the SPSS in order to obtain their descriptive statistics. The results of the study showed that there were various students’ perceptions about the notion of plagiarism and the underlying reasons for their plagiarism. It was generally understood that plagiarism wa the use of words/ideas of others recognized as one’s own. Further, the major causes of plagiarism in the assignments were due to lack of English language skills and lack of time management. In addition, the behaviors of lecturers and the university involvement in socializing the concept of plagiarism also became the causes for the higher proportion of academic dishonesty among the students. These findings are expected to be the input for the creation of campus policy so that academic integrity and better lecture system can be achieved in any university.


Curationis ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia J. Theart ◽  
Ilze Smit

Honesty is regarded as a basic ethical value in all educational programmes, and academic integrity is of undisputed importance in educational environments. The literature reviewed revealed that academic dishonesty is wide-ranging and also encountered in the nursing education environment. This phenomenon is of concern to the nursing fraternity because of the proven positive correlation between unethical academic practices and future unethical professional behaviour. Limited research data regarding academic dishonesty at nursing education institutions in South Africa and this correlation motivated the present study. The purpose was to examine the status of academic integrity amongst nursing students at a nursing education institution in the Western Cape. Formulated objectives guided investigation of several variables which impact upon academic integrity, for example the incidence of and student perceptions around academic dishonesty.A quantitative, descriptive survey design was used, with a self-reported questionnaire (based on literature review and study objectives) designed to obtain information about academic dishonesty. Provision was also made for qualitative input from the respondents by including three open-ended questions.It was found that academic dishonesty was a reality at the nursing education institution where this study was done. Cheating associated with plagiarism and assignments was identified as the main problem area. An unacceptably high level of dishonesty in completion of practical records was also an area of concern. The main recommendations are development and implementation of a code of honour and implementation of comprehensive academic integrity policies at the nursing education institution, with practical measures aimed at combating cheating in tests and examinations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted Brown ◽  
Stephen Isbel ◽  
Alexandra Logan ◽  
Jamie Etherington

PurposeAcademic integrity is the application of honest, ethical and responsible behaviours to all facets of students’ scholarly endeavours and is the moral code of academia. The international literature reports the prevalence of academic dishonesty in higher education across many disciplines (including the health sciences), and there is evidence linking academic dishonesty in health professional students with future unprofessional behaviour in the workplace. International students are reported to be a particularly vulnerable group. This paper aims to investigate the factors that may be predictive of academic honesty and performance in domestic and international occupational therapy students.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 701 participants (603 domestic students; 98 international students) were recruited from five Australian universities, and data were collected via a two-part self-report questionnaire. ANOVA and multi-linear regression analyses with bootstrapping were completed.FindingsTendency towards cheating and self-perception tendency towards dishonesty in research, gender, age and hours spent in indirect study were found to be statistically significant predictors of academic integrity and performance.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of this study were the use of convenience sampling and self-report scales which can be prone to social desirability bias. Further studies are recommended to explore other potential predictors of academic honesty and performance in occupational therapy students.Originality/valueA range of predictors of academic honesty and success were found that will assist educators to target vulnerable domestic and international occupational therapy students as well as address deficiencies in academic integrity through proactive strategies.


Author(s):  
Dana Sopova

This paper highlights academic integrity in the system of the future teacher professional training; the essence of the academic honesty concept, its contents in relation to the formation of personal and professional characteristics of a competent specialist is researched; the attitude to the academic dishonesty manifestations among the students of the specialty “Preschool education” is determined. Author examines the growing cases of violations of the academic integrity principles in higher education. The European experience in shaping the moral and ethical behavior of a future educators is highlighted as a model for Ukraine in struggle with tolerance to academic dishonesty manifestations in the educational process. On the basis of systematic analysis, it was proved that academic honesty is the rules and moral and ethical principles that all educators should use to build an atmosphere of mutual trust in the academic environment, updating the education system. Understanding and adopting academic norms based on systematic work and motivation is a necessary phenomenon for future educators. Updating the system of higher education is possible only with the active participation of students in reforms, providing suggestions on ways to improve the educational process. Many institutions of higher education in Ukraine already have "Ethical Codes" that define the principles of academic honesty at the legislative level. The next step towards restoring the academic culture of our country will be the creation of ethical commissions that will clearly regulate sanctions for non-compliance with ethical norms in the educational environment. It is concluded that academic honesty has gained special significance for the educational environment, and only joint efforts of the entire academic community can build the corporate culture of the university. It is necessary to deal comprehensively with tolerant attitude of students towards negative phenomena of violation of ethical principles in educational activities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 19-26
Author(s):  
Rhonda Richards ◽  
Robert Stevens ◽  
Lawrence Silver ◽  
Kitty Campbell

The March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic caused many universities to move face-to-face and hybrid courses to completely online formats, resulting in increased challenges to academic integrity. Although academic misconduct and academic dishonesty among students is nothing new, the literature is inconclusive as to whether there is more cheating in online classes than in face-to-face classes. However, online education has made it much more difficult for instructors to detect instances of cheating. The purpose of this study is to identify faculty perceptions and attitudes regarding student violations of academic integrity, particularly in online courses. An Internet survey link was sent to all faculty at a southwestern university. Responses revealed that although faculty are aware of the threat of technology to academic integrity, many do not use the available technology safeguards.


Author(s):  
Anton V. Dolzhenko ◽  
Tahir Mehmood Khan ◽  
Anna V. Dolzhenko

In today's higher education, plagiarism can be ranked as one of the top challenges to academic honesty and integrity. Defining plagiarism itself is another challenging issue as it is transcribed in different manners and practices depending on cultures and institutes. This chapter aims to define plagiarism in context of culture, student perceptions and according to different university policies and procedures adopted around the globe. Plagiarism comes under review not only as an individual's misconduct but more as a symptom of an eroded academic culture. The treatment of this symptom is discussed from point of view of two sometimes competing strategies. One of them is based on the formal side of the problem and uses as tools policy, detection (using specialized software), and punishments (PDP) to abolish plagiarism. Another one focuses on trust, education, and assessments (TEA) as points of intervention with the aim to improve academic integrity and negate plagiarism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
Rhonda Richards

The March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic caused many universities to move face-to-face and hybrid courses to completely online formats, resulting in increased challenges to academic integrity. Although academic misconduct and academic dishonesty among students is nothing new, the literature is inconclusive as to whether there is more cheating in online classes than in face-to-face classes. However, online education has made it much more difficult for instructors to detect instances of cheating. The purpose of this study is to identify student perceptions and attitudes regarding violations of academic integrity, particularly in online courses. An Internet survey link was sent to all students enrolled at a southwestern university.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helaine Mary Alessio ◽  
Jeff D. Messinger

The recent COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges to faculty (Fac) and students (Stu) to uphold academic integrity when many classes transitioned from traditional to remote. This study compared Fac and Stu perceptions surrounding academic integrity when using technology assisted proctoring in online testing.Methods: College Fac (N = 150) and Stu (N = 78) completed a survey about perceptions of academic integrity and use of proctoring software for online testing. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used to determine if there were differences in the distribution of agreement between students and faculty.Results: Fac and Stu agreed maintaining academic integrity was a priority (93 vs. 94%), and that it is easier to cheat in online tests (81 vs. 83%). Responses differed on whether online proctoring software was effective at preventing academic dishonesty (23% of Fac vs. 42% of Stu disagreed). 53% of Fac and 70% of Stu perceived that online proctoring was an invasion of privacy. Only 7% of Stu and 49% of Fac perceived importance in having a policy about proctoring online tests, whether cheating in an academic setting is likely associated with cheating in a work setting (78 vs. 51%), and if given a choice, 46% of Fac and only 2% of Stu would choose to use proctoring software. Answers to open-ended questions identified feelings of stress and anxiety by Stu and concerns about privacy by Fac.Conclusion: Fac and Stu had similar perceptions of the importance of academic integrity and ease of cheating in online tests. They differed in perception of proctoring software’s effectiveness in deterring cheating, choosing to give or take a proctored online test, and having a policy in place. Policies on technology-assisted online testing should be developed with faculty and student input to address student concerns of privacy, anxiety, and stress and uphold academic integrity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 446-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Tsang ◽  
David M. Harris

Patients expect physicians to be lifelong learners who are able to interpret and evaluate diagnostic tests, and most medical schools list the development of lifelong learning in their program objectives. However, lecture is the most often utilized form of teaching in the first two years and is considered passive learning. The current generation of medical students has many characteristics that should support active learning pedagogies. The purpose of this study was to analyze student and faculty perceptions of active learning in an integrated medical curriculum at the second-year mark, where students have been exposed to multiple educational pedagogies. The first hypothesis of the study was that faculty would favor active learning methods. The second hypothesis was that Millennial medical students would favor active learning due to their characteristics. Primary faculty for years 1 and 2 and second-year medical students were recruited for an e-mail survey consisting of 12 questions about active learning and lecture. Students perceived that lecture and passive pedagogies were more effective for learning, whereas faculty felt active and collaborative learning was more effective. Students believed that more content should be covered by lecture than faculty. There were also significant differences in perceptions of what makes a good teacher. Students and faculty both felt that lack of time in the curriculum and preparation time were barriers for faculty. The data suggest that students are not familiar with the process of learning and that more time may be needed to help students develop lifelong learning skills.


2004 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Simon * ◽  
Jim R. Carr ◽  
Sesi M. Mccullough ◽  
Sally J. Morgan ◽  
Ted Oleson ◽  
...  

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