The Covid-19 pandemic that entered our lives suddenly in 2020 compelled higher education systems throughout the world to transfer to online learning, including online evaluation. A severe problem of online evaluation is that it enables various technological possibilities that facilitate students' unethical behaviors. The research aimed to investigate these behaviors, as well as the reasons for their appearance, as practiced in exams held for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic, and to elicit students' and lecturers' perceptions of students' academic dishonesty (AD) during this period. The sample included 81 students and 50 lecturers from several Israeli colleges and universities. The findings expand extant knowledge on academic dishonesty, identifying significant differences between the perceptions of students and lecturers concerning attitudes towards online exams and the reasons for dishonest behaviors. The findings among the students also indicate that younger students and Arab students tended to cheat more in online exams. Moreover, the findings indicated a lack of mutual trust between students and lecturers with regard to academic dishonesty, a deep distrust that will probably continue even after the Covid-19 crisis. This last finding should be a cause of concern for higher education policy-makers, affecting future policies for improving lecturer-student relations, especially during crises. Recommendations are proposed for addressing academic dishonesty in exams in general and during the pandemic in particular.

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Two Sides of the Coin: Lack of Academic Integrity in Exams During the Corona Pandemic, Students' and Lecturers' Perceptions.

Much of the discourse surrounding plagiarism is one of fear—a fear of being caught and punished, but many plagiarism examples happen unintentionally as students struggle with a new language, new ideas, and new communities in tertiary education. Specifically, many students are challenged with the task of writing a research paper, which involves finding academic sources, reading those sources to answer a research question, and integrating direct quotations and paraphrasing. Because novice writers often struggle with these skills, what is a developmental stage is instead interpreted as plagiarism. Much of the discussion of plagiarism involves implicit and explicit definitions of ownership, but there is little research about how students understand the concept of ownership in relation to ideas and language. In this qualitative study, we present data from 18 international students at an American-style university in the Middle East who write an introductory research paper as part of a composition course. Results show that perceptions of plagiarism changed in relation to owning ideas, owning language, and owning time spent on the research process and that distinguishing these boundaries is often difficult for students even within their own final research papers. We suggest teaching more robust note-taking strategies, discussing ownership in terms of a writer’s choices in guiding readers through the paper, and creating an environment where students can understand the complexities of plagiarism rather than simply fearing being caught.

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Moving from plagiarism police to integrity coaches: assisting novice students in understanding the relationship between research and ownership

Abstract This article reviews and evaluates the academic integrity research conducted in Australasia over a 30-year period from 1990–2020. It presents an analysis of studies on academic integrity including those on contract cheating as an increasing area of concern in higher education. The authors divide the research according to the diverse stakeholders—students, faculty, staff, and institutions of higher learning. Keeping in mind that maintaining and promoting a culture of academic integrity is everyone’s business, and that there is no simple solution, the authors recommend a combination of strategies to promote and maintain a culture of academic integrity in higher education now and into the future.

Promoting Academic Integrity in Institutions of Higher Learning: What 30 Years of Research (1990-2020) in Australasia Has Taught Us

Abstract This study discusses the mediating role of statistics anxiety and motivation in the relationship comprising academic dishonesty, personality traits, and previous academic achievements in three different learning environments (Face to Face -F2F, Planned Online Environment – POE, and Emergency Remote Teaching – ERT). Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a broad psychological framework for these phenomena. Data were collected from 649 bachelor-degree students in the Social Sciences in five Israeli academic institutions. Structural equation modelling was employed to investigate the research variables’ relationships. Findings indicate that statistics anxiety mediates the relationship between personality traits and academic dishonesty in the POE and the ERT learning environments. Findings also indicate the relationship between students’ achievements and academic dishonesty, but only in the ERT learning environment. In contrast, motivation mediates the relationship between students’ achievements and statistics anxiety only in the POE learning environment. This study unveils that learning environments determine the mediating role of statistical anxiety. In digital learning environments (POE, ERT), mediation has been found between students’ personality traits and academic dishonesty. No similar parallel mediation could be established in the physical learning environment, F2F. Thus, we conclude that online courses should be designed according to student-centred approaches. 

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Does statistics anxiety impact academic dishonesty? Academic challenges in the age of distance learning

This chapter explores an educational approach to support academic integrity and minimize student academic misconduct across a university or college. Building on perspectives and research, a conceptualization of this approach is offered, comprising three areas: academic integrity policy, teaching and assessment, and academic integrity education and academic literacies. Given international concerns about the occurrence of student academic misconduct and the implications of this for academic standards, an institutional approach can be designed to cultivate an ethos of integrity for teaching, learning, and student support, as well as provide an approach for managing academic misconduct with a process that is accessible, consistent, and equitable. It is highlighted how institutional policy can be augmented to reflect an educational approach by enhancing procedure to give an inclusive and developmental process for students. In promoting academic integrity, the importance of teaching practices involving active and experiential learning is considered, and the ways in which assessment might be effectively used in this regard. It is clear that the diversity of student cohorts should be recognized in designing interventions for developing student integrity and academic literacies, which can involve programs on academic writing, as well as offering peer mentoring opportunities. It is vital that institutional structures are designed to support the student holistically, including academic, study, and well-being services. Further, facilitating in-class discussions with students about academic integrity issues is likely to be beneficial as part of an educational approach. 

Integrating Academic Integrity: An Educational Approach

Academic misconduct is a problem of growing concern across the tertiary education sector. While plagiarism has been the most common form of academic misconduct, the advent of software programs to detect plagiarism has seen the problem of misconduct simply mutate. As universities attempt to function in an increasingly complex environment, the factors that contribute to academic misconduct are unlikely to be easily mitigated. A multiple case study approach examined how academic misconduct is perceived in universities in in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom via interviews with academics and administrators. The findings show that academic misconduct is a systemic problem that manifests in various ways and requires similarly diverse approaches to management. Greater consistency in policies and procedures, including a focus on preventative education for both staff and students, is key to managing the mutations of academic misconduct that continue to plague the higher education sector globally.

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Steph Allen

Papers

Managing the mutations: academic misconduct Australia, New Zealand, and the UK