Academic Dishonesty In The Classroom

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Undertaking a study into academic dishonesty and its causes are important to every educator. There is a culture of cheating among the “Net Generation”; they are presented with messages daily that everyone is doing it so it must be ok (McCabe et al., 2012). Examination of cheating behaviors and the steps needed to prevent them are imperative to understanding what educators and administration must change to improve the dissemination of knowledge to the students in their charge. The assessment of a student’s mastery of the requirements of the course and their overall knowledge of the material are adversely affected by academic dishonesty, and the possibly put the public at risk in certain careers. For these reasons, academic dishonesty must …show more content…
Is there an epidemic of academic dishonesty? Has academic misconduct risen in the 21st century with the advent of the Internet and the myriad of electronic devices now in use? How do gender and generation affect the amount of cheating? Why is this phenomenon occurring? If it is higher in the online platform; what causes it to be higher in online education? What can educators do to stop this phenomenon?
Almost immediately several of the questions were rendered moot by the literature reviewed. Ironically, one of the first blows to the writer’s thesis came from a 1964 doctoral dissertation investigating academic dishonesty. Before half of the literature was reviewed answer to most of the questions posed were answered or the assumptions associated with them were proven false or contradictory.
Bowers (1964) and Bushway and Nash (1977) immediately disproved the theory that academic dishonesty is higher in the 21st century than in any previous one. Their data compared to current data; McCabe et al. (2012), Hart (2014), Davis et al. (2009), Antisal et al.(2009), and others showed the rate of misconduct to be rather static at approximately 50% to 65% of students reporting cheating behaviors (McCabe et al., 2012; Hart, 2014; Davis et al., 2009; Antisal et al., 2009). These results rendered the question of the rise of academic misconduct in the 21st century unlikely. The research did, however, cement the theory
…show more content…
Both are widely believed to be causes of the high rate of academic dishonesty. The literature reviewed showed a disturbing trend in the decline of the morals and values of the “Net Generation” (Lang, 2000. McCabe et al., 2012; Anitsal et al., 2009; Thomas & Sassi, 2011). Historically, every previous generation had also felt this way about the one that follows them ((Marrou, 1956; Bowers, 1964; Bushway and Nash, 1977). The research put forward every generation is worse than the previous but only in the minds of the older generation. However, it failed to prove this thesis conclusively. The research also shows that the younger generation tends to our grow their lack of ethics as they mature intellectually and morally (Olafson et al.,

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