Academic Dishonesty In College Essay

School can be stressful and overwhelming to student regardless of the academic level. Many students, who abandon the idea of studying, can succumb to the method of academic cheating. Academic cheating is a problem. Young adults, especially in high school, will or have already cheated, “In a survey of 24,000 students at 70 high schools, Donald McCabe (Rutgers University) found that 64 percent of students admitted to cheating on a test, 58 percent admitted to plagiarism and 95 percent said they participated in some form of cheating, whether it was on a test, plagiarism, or copying homework” (Facts & Stats). Rajani Dahiya and Dr. Sarita, a Research Scholar and an Assistant Professor-II in the Department of Education at M.D.U., both state that academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, sabotage, deception, and fabrication. Examples of cheating include: specific body movements, answers written on the body and other objects, looking over a peer’s shoulders, and making distinct noises (Dahiya and Sarita). What causes adolescents to cheat? Is it idleness or simply a matter of forgetfulness? Though these two assumptions may be correct, they are not the main cause. The main cause of academic dishonesty is pressure. The source of academic cheating, pressure, comes in a few different forms: pressure from peers, pressure from parents, and pressure from the person who is cheating. According to Dictionary.com, pressure is the application of force on an individual to feel obligated to perform a task, even if the individual does not want to. Students may feel pressure from their peers because they constantly challenge each other to be higher-ranked. This might be perceived as a competition for exceptional grades (Pickhardt). Concerning parents, they also can put pressure on their children to do well in school and obtain what they distinguish as acceptable grades, “By ramping up the academic pressure, they 're hoping to spare their children the disappointment and feelings of failure that may come along with not getting admitted to college” (The Effects of Academic Parental Pressure On Kids). The children will try whatever they can to please their parents and make sure they will not be chastised for unsatisfactory work, even if that means performing dishonest actions. The final form of pressure is self-pressure. Students will put pressure on themselves to do well in school. They worry about their future and being accepted into a college, “Students desire to achieve academic excellence for them …show more content…
Parents should realize that the pressure they are putting on their child is unhealthy. Parents need to let their child know that they only want him or her to do his or her best, not necessarily be the highest ranking student (Sarita and Dahiya). Parents need to encourage their child, not overwhelm him or her with undue constant pressure. The teachers can take responsibility as well to decrease the pressure on their students. At the beginning of a school year and or a new semester, teachers can prolong the deadlines of certain projects or homework so the students do not feel too rushed and panicked to hand in material. For adolescents who put pressure on themselves, they have the ability to see teachers if they are struggling and ask about how they can excel in the class. In addition, they can have a conversation with their parents about what is expected from them, as well as what they expect from themselves. Guidelines may be set so the adolescent knows what line(s) not to