Academic integrity and intellectual credibility of students’ outputs are challenged in the onset of COVID 19. However, educational institutions’ respond to the challenge remain uncertain because confronting this issue affects not only the students but also the teachers. Should academic institutions need to address the issue of academic integrity and intellectual credibility? This essay presents the problem and offer several ways to avoid academic dishonesty.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Conclusion
3. References
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this work is to explore the prevalence, underlying motivations, and critical challenges of maintaining academic integrity in higher education, especially during the forced transition to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic dishonesty rates.
- Psychological and situational drivers of cheating among university students.
- The effectiveness of institutional prevention strategies and honor codes.
- Technological solutions and ethical considerations in online assessment monitoring.
- The identification and classification of different forms of plagiarism.
Excerpt from the Book
The Importance of Academic Integrity: Why Should We Bother?
Research has shown that education initiatives for academic integrity can have a possible effect on students’ attitudes and reduces academic integrity violations. Although programs differ across institutions, there is relatively little research on their comparative effectiveness (Denisova Schmidt, 2017). Academic dishonesty refers to activities which aimed at supplying or collecting data from others, using unauthorized materials, and circumventing the approved evaluation process (Baran & Jonason, 2020).
In research, the frequency of academic dishonesty report shows the global significance of this phenomenon. Fifty percent of students from different Australian universities reported working together on an assignment when it was to be completed as an individual (Harper et al., 2019), and copying from someone’s exam paper at least once was performed by 36% of students in some German universities (Patrzek et al., 2015). Lupton et al., (2000) also reported that in some Polish universities, academic dishonesty is a big issue. They reported that 59% of the student revealed to cheating in the current class while 84% confessed to cheating during college at some point. This report was supported by Glendinning et al., (2015) who reported that 31% of students committed unintentional and intentional plagiarism during their studies.
Possible explanations for these issues include the fact that traditional methods of prevention seldom discuss variations in the personality and academic motivations of students, which may linked to tendency to be dishonest (Tatum & Schwartz, 2017). Previous studies have stated that negative emotionality is associated with positive attitudes to plagiarism (Tindall & Curtis, 2019); intrinsic motivation is associated with lower self-reported cheating (Orosz et al., 2016); and socially oriented human values are negatively associated with academic dishonesty (Koscielniak & Bojanowska, 2019), while personally based values are positively corrected with academic integrity (Landa-Blanco et al., 2020).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the challenges surrounding academic integrity in the era of remote learning and reviews current research on the prevalence and causes of dishonest student behavior.
2. Conclusion: This chapter summarizes the impact of the pandemic on assessment security and argues for the necessity of redesigning evaluation strategies to ensure academic integrity in a rapidly changing educational environment.
3. References: This section provides a comprehensive list of academic sources and literature used to support the arguments throughout the paper.
Keywords
Academic integrity, academic dishonesty, COVID-19, distance learning, plagiarism, cheating, assessment, higher education, student attitudes, contract cheating, remote invigilation, academic motivation, honor codes, evaluation strategies, educational policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines the importance of maintaining academic integrity within educational institutions, specifically addressing how the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges related to student dishonesty.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
The work explores the motivations behind cheating, the inadequacy of traditional evaluation methods, the role of institutional policies, and the potential of technological solutions to support academic honesty.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to analyze why students engage in academic dishonesty and to propose strategies that academic institutions can implement to better uphold standards of integrity, particularly in online settings.
What methodology is utilized in this paper?
The paper utilizes a literature review approach, synthesizing findings from various global studies to illustrate the prevalence and nature of academic misconduct.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The body covers common reasons for cheating (such as time management and stress), various types of plagiarism, institutional prevention strategies, and a critical look at remote exam monitoring software.
Which keywords characterize this paper?
Key terms include academic integrity, academic dishonesty, COVID-19, distance learning, plagiarism, contract cheating, and student evaluation.
How does the pandemic specifically affect academic dishonesty according to the author?
The pandemic forced a rapid transition to online assessments for which many institutions were unprepared, creating unmonitored environments that increased the opportunities and temptations for students to cheat.
What specific forms of plagiarism does the author identify?
The author identifies four specific types: direct plagiarism, self-plagiarism, mosaic plagiarism, and accidental plagiarism.
What role do personal values play in academic honesty?
The research notes that socially oriented human values are linked to lower rates of dishonesty, whereas negative emotionality is associated with a more positive attitude toward plagiarism.
What does the author suggest to combat the rise of 'essay mills'?
The author suggests that institutions must take concrete actions to eradicate profit-driven ghost-writers and adopt more adaptive, personalized learning and testing methods to reduce the reliance on contract cheating.
- Quote paper
- Ariel San Jose (Author), 2021, The Importance of Academic Integrity, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1021285
