Cheating is usually an act employed to create an unfair advantage in one’s own interest through lies, deception, trickery or fraudulent means. The one involved in cheating is seen to do so at the expense of others and with the aim of getting more where one has invested less. Almost everyone cheats in some way in their day to day lives. Cheating is employed in almost every sphere of life including sport, personal or family relationships, gambling and academics. Cheating does not necessarily break the law but is considered to breach the rules though some specific forms of cheating are punishable by law such as tax evasion or fraud.
Main body
The act of cheating is universally considered to be morally wrong and against society ethics. It is prohibited in many religions and is largely seen as a source of evil rather than good. But the question that lingers in the minds of many is how can all the people be wrong if everybody is doing it? It seems that even those that should set trends to be emulated are are doing the exact opposite of that. Ranging from politicians, evangelists, Muslim clerics, accountants, psychiatrists, lawyers and judges as well, cheating has in a way become a social norm. In every aspect of life cheating is indeed rampant and with the current trends of highly competitive life, it is not about to go away just yet. According to a study by the Association of Certified Examiners 68.6% of the employees who steal have no previous criminal record. The difference or distinction between what is dishonest and what is not is becoming blurred with accountants pushed by executives to cheat so as to keep the company’s shareholders happy and avoid losses.
With the current rate of competition some people are not asking whether one should cheat or not but to what extent one should cheat. One in every four American admitted that it is right to evade taxes and that they actually sympathize with those who find themselves behind bars for cheating on their taxes. In America we have a huge and vibrant industry of advertisement, an institution believed by many to be based on deception. Being honest is not enviable today like it used to be, with many arguing that if you must be honest you must be extremely good to cope with the competition from a pool of cheaters. People cheat because they cannot complete everything that needs to be done. A husband whose job has taken over his life would call in sick and spend his time with another woman rather than his family(which does not need him much anyway, they only pretend to). Everybody is cheating everyone – while some employees fake or deliberately skip work to get overtime, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that some employers are altering their employees time cards to avoid paying overtime. With cheating reaching to such heights and assuming such forms, it leaves the honest man between a rock and an extremely hard place.
Conclusion
Cheating though does not automatically result to an easier life or getting all that one wanted. Cheating is in simple terms a vice and is wrong and unethical. There are some forms of deception that are largely seen as acceptable. In the Christian Bible for instance, Abraham is said to have lied to the Egyptians about their nature of relationship with his wife, claiming instead that she was his sister. If he had not done this, the Egyptians would have killed him and taken his wife. All other forms are wrong and most have terrible consequences. Cheating in relationships for instance does not only break relationship or family bonds but also leaves the victims in traumatic conditions that may last for the rest of their lives. Deceit to friends and relatives may result to breaking life long ties and a feeling of dejection. A honest society will be better and easier for everyone – but is that possible?
All people cheat at least once in their life by telling lies or doing something that they are not allowed to do. It happens because of many reasons such as the desire to get profit or to feel better. This paper discusses possible reasons for cheating and explains why all individuals can be dishonest. The report provides personal experience and supports it with evidence.
Reasons for Cheating
Cheating is common for humans and animals as it is an easy way to get profit without trying hard. Students can cheat to have better scores in tests and professional sportspeople may use doping to improve their results (Fang and Casadevall 30). These facts mean that cheating is often used to receive benefit. However, there are many other reasons why people often decide to cheat.
In my experience, sometimes people are dishonest others because they are afraid to show their real self and be left alone. For example, individuals may tell lies when they do something wrong because they are afraid to lose their partner or a job. Fang and Casadevall agree that dishonesty may be caused by the fear of loss (35). Grolleau et al. report that people cheat out of fear more often than to gain benefit (3428).
In addition, I think that cheating may also happen because humans repeat each other’s behavior. For example, if students cheat in class, their peers may start to do so too when they see that there is no punishment for lying. The study by Jacobsen et al. shows that when individuals see dishonesty in others, they may start to think that lying is normal (368). Finally, many people cheat to have a better self-image. For example, they may say that they earn much money to make others envious. Fang and Casadevall support this idea and note that individuals cheat to feel good about themselves (36).
However, there is an opinion that the person’s gender is one of the main reasons for cheating. Jacobsen et al. note that males are usually more dishonest than females (365). However, the individual’s gender cannot be one of the main reason for dishonesty because people live in a society and use all methods to be attractive for others. For humans, cheating is one of these methods.
Conclusion
Cheating is common for people for many reasons. They include the desire to feel better, gain benefit, and avoid loss. Also, people may cheat because others do so and are not punished for it. A person’s gender is a possible reason of cheating but not the main one. It is possible to say that many humans cheat because it is natural for them to do so.
Works Cited
Fang, Ferric, and Arturo Casadevall. “Why We Cheat.” Scientific American Mind, vol. 24, no. 2, 2013, pp. 30-37.
Grolleau, Gilles, et al. “Cheating and Loss Aversion: Do People Cheat More to Avoid a Loss?.” Management Science, vol. 62, no. 12, 2016, pp. 3428-3438.
Jacobsen, Catrine, et al. “Why Do We Lie? A Practical Guide to the Dishonesty Literature.” Journal of Economic Surveys, vol. 32, no. 2, 2018, pp. 357-387.
The study concerning cheating by college students does not require an informed consent because of various reasons. First, an evaluation of students’ behavior during an examination is an educational practice that is necessary to establish behaviors associated with examination cheating. Students are aware of guidelines that restrict certain behaviors in an examination room. In this regard, they are likely to take caution to avoid cases of examination irregularity. Considering that students are aware of the consequences associated with certain behavior during an examination, the research does not expose them to any new risks.
Another aspect demonstrating that the research does not warrant an informed consent is the consideration that an informed consent may diminish the merits of the research. The experimental design for the research highlights the fact that providing students with indications concerning a study in which they are subjects could encourage them to alter their behavior so that it is no longer revealing. Furthermore, the lack of an informed consent ensures that the data obtained during the study does not reveal any sensitive information about the subjects.
The public health study concerning sanitary behaviors requires an informed consent. This research involves characteristics that the subjects may consider as an infringement of personal privacy. The researcher should consult with the subjects concerning the study and let them decide whether there are some aspects of the research that they wish to avoid. In this regard, participants should have an opportunity to evaluate various consequences associated with participating in the study. To obtain optimal results, the researcher should provide the subjects with an opportunity to encompass their preferences, values and goals in the research experiment.
An informed consent will allow the participants to evaluate the intended use of the information obtained during the study, and decide whether it may have negative effects on various aspects of their lives. Another consideration that promotes the need for an informed consent is the environment in which the research takes place. The conditions in the bathroom stall may have some restricting influences on the decisions of the subjects as they impose limits on individual choices.
Thus, the participants may alter their bathroom behaviors in consideration of the available resources. The lack of a capacity to make authentic decisions concerning participation in the research necessitates an informed consent.
Considering the nature of the research in the first case, an informed consent is not necessary. The research concerning cheating by students in a college entails a research design in which consent would have negative effects on the results of the experiment. In addition, the non-consent approach eliminates diverse aspects that could expose the subjects to various risks. The study concerning bathroom behavior requires an informed consent since the nature of the research exposes the subjects to various risks. The need for consent in this research is crucial in order to allow the subjects’ preferences, values and goals to influence the research.
I would feel comfortable participating in both studies as long as the first study does not incorporate an informed consent, and the second study entails an informed consent. In this regard, the two studies can be carried out to serve the interests of the subjects while eliminating various risks.
Reply
The research described by the discussion post does not expose the subjects to additional risks other than the risks considered as normal within the environment of concern. Thus, an informed consent is not necessary for the study. In fact, an informed consent may expose the subjects to several risks. In this regard, it does not serve the interests of the subjects. Furthermore, considering the nature of the research, the lack of an informed consent will facilitate the realization of satisfactory results. Undertaking the research without creating awareness among the subjects is the only approach that will promote the realization of candid results.
Suggesting that the subjects face harm by participating in the study will encourage them to avoid roles that may pose risks. Informing the subjects that they are under observation during the research will make them become extremely cautious to avoid incidences that may collide with their interests.
The lack of an informed consent will ensure there are no records that can allow the linking of sensitive information to particular subjects. Instead of employing costly measures that ensure that the collected information is safe, the researcher should adopt a non-consent approach. The board should not engage in acts that may influence the research process in relation to the preferences, goals and values of the subjects.
This is because the board may have personal interests in the study, which do not cater for the interests of the subjects. The study should allow the subjects to demonstrate their own will to participate in the study and ensure that the major influence over the study emanate from the subjects, and not other parties. Various considerations relating to this research do not warrant cooperation between the researcher and the subjects because this may have negative effects on the research process.
Although cheating is considered a “bad thing”, there are no clear pointers as to who are prone to cheating. The general agreement is that everybody is capable of cheating. According to Dachis (Par.2), a consideration of why people make a fearful choice is crucial in understanding why people cheat. In this essay, I assess some of the causes of cheating among different people and the effects of their actions.
Dachis asserts that cheating occurs because people are afraid that the alternative to cheating would possibly result in worse experiences. Adams further asserts students cheat in examinations in order to get good grades and avoid failing. He argues that students also cheat in order to secure admission to prestigious colleges of their choice and to please their parents by posting good grades. Pressure from the society to perform well in examination also results in cheating among students (Par.3).
Cheating happens when the risk of being caught does not seem frightening like the risk of failing. Combinations of pressure to perform well and forced activities are the major causes of cheating. Forced or compulsory schooling promotes cheating. Students are continuously being told on the value of good grades.
Basically, grades are the only motivator for students who view schooling as forced work, boring, and purposeless. Consequently, they advance their way out of the system and into freedom by ensuring they post good grades through cheating (Dachis Par.4).
People cheat because they perceive the outcome to be more attractive than failure. A subjective external environment can cause pressure for a person to perform thus resulting to cheating. However, it is baffling to understand why some people would continue cheating even after succeeding and the need to continue cheating is no longer there.
Dachis (Par.8) argues that there are some self-destructive people who like pushing things to the edge. He further argues that other people are risk-seekers who enjoy the pleasure that comes with the risk of cheating. Other people cheat because they enjoy the feeling of power that comes with getting away with things they should not have.
Many people have been left wondering why a smart student capable of passing an examination would resort to cheating. In the world of sports, a lot of people have been perplexed by the tendencies of great teams to cheat despite prior warning regarding the consequences of cheating.
It has baffled many people as to why people would choose to cheat in circumstances where the disadvantages of cheating far much outweigh the benefits. A student may have the entire examination cancelled, or in some cases he or she may be discontinued from school.
Cheating in sports may also give a slight edge in a game but may result in huge fines, suspensions, stripping off the medals or awards worn, or even a lifetime ban from the sport (Bennet Par. 3). According to Fiedler (Par.1), Lance Armstrong who was a seven times Tour de France champion was stripped off his medals and many other wins after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found him guilty of doping. He was also banned from farther competition.
Bennet argues that although irrationality is a rule in many cases of cheating, it is not the only reason why people cheat. Conventionally, cheating has been thought to involve cold calculations.
However, recent research findings indicate that people succumb to the temptation of cheating even when it is not in their best interest (Par.6). Rather than think about disadvantages and benefits of cheating with care, people are influenced by their frame of mind, peer pressure, and personal perceptions about their image. A sense of fairness is sometimes a motivating factor for some people who cheat.
Although cheating has been widely publicized through the media, new research is producing evidence that cheating is also widespread in sports. These researchers whose findings are based on economics as a forensic tool assert that cheating either by referees or players is a common occurrence in a wide range of sports.
Betting has been also attributed to cheating in sports. A study by Justin Wolfers between 1989 and 2005 involving over 4000 Division 1 college basketball games found out that there was significant point shaving in college basketball.
He discovered that probability alone could not explain the number of times that the winning team just fell short of beating the “spread” (margin of victory as determined by bookmakers). The researcher argued that the players were in most cases holding back just a little bit to enable the gamblers who had bet against the spread to also win .Wolfer concluded that the gamblers had prior arrangements with the players (Bennet par.8)..
Some sports people cheat because their competitors are doing the same. This mentality of cheating because others are cheating has resulted in widespread cheating in the sport fraternity including professional cycling. The pressure to perform well and be at par or even better than a cheating competitor has contributed to cheating among many sports.
Works Cited
Bennett, Drake, Why do people cheat? (2007). Web.
Dachis, Adam, Why People Cheat. (2011). Web.
Fiedler, David. n.d. Lance Armstrong: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Lance Armstrong. Web.
Despite the high frequency of cheating at schools and students’ perception of this act as ‘victimless,’ there are multiple serious consequences of academic dishonesty. In the workplace, a person cannot apply the skills that they have not learned in the first place, which leads to occupational incompetence (Cascio, 2018). Cheating also leads to corrupted morals since students begin to cheat more frequently and try to rationalize their dishonesty. Another long-term effect of cheating is the student’s inability to move forward academically. Disciplinary records are often transferred together with the grades, and instances of cheating may serve as a discredit for students applying for a graduate degree or a faculty position. Academic dishonesty also affects personal relationships since friends and family can begin to question one’s honesty outside the classroom.
Reference
Cascio, C. (2018). How will cheating in school affect the rest of your life? The Classroom. Web.
A linguistic analysis enables finding the deceiving patterns in oral or written statements. Ten aspects shall be addressed in the analysis to indicate an attempt to falsify or hide facts. They are lack of self-reference, verb tense, answering questions with questions, equivocation, oaths, euphemisms, alluding to actions, lack of detail, narrative balance, and mean length of utterance.
The first sign of an attempt to mislead is the avoidance of using “I” pronoun. The deceiver tries to eliminate the personal pronoun or substitutes it with “you” to minimize the relation to him or herself. Also, a deceptive person can retell the story using a passive voice. The second signal of deception is the reference to past events using the present tense. It can either imply the accuracy in detail or rehearsal of an event that did not take place. The third sign is responding to questions with questions. This way the suspect can try to avoid replying at all.
The fourth method that signifies presumable deception is equivocation. If a person tries to give falsehoods, he or she can use noncommittal verbs or vague expression with a certain degree of uncertainty (sort of, perhaps, more or less and other). Further, the fifth linguistic means that implies a suspicious attempt is the usage of oaths. Such phrases like “I swear” may be used to convince that the suspect is telling the truth; meanwhile, a truthful witness knows that his or her words are the truth are they do not need to be backed up.
The sixth telltale mark of deception is euphemisms. The usage of words that have a mild meaning or substituting terms with a strong degree of expression may identify that the interviewee is trying to minimize the damage caused by criminal behavior. For instance, a suspect may say that the thing was “taken” rather than “stolen” to represent the demeanor in a more favorable light. The seventh indicator of possible deception is the allusion to actions. For instance, a person may refer to an action by mentioning an attempt or intention to do something without an actual statement of committing it.
The eighth reason to question whether the interviewee is telling the truth or not is the lack of detail. If a person fills the statement with many details, which may be irrelevant, it implies that he or she is retrieving the accident from his or her mind and it, as a rule, brings forth many facts or aspects that are related to the experienced occurrence. However, a dry retelling of facts may evidence that the story is being fabricated or some of the turning points are left out intentionally. It can be done to downsize the risk of being caught lying; the fewer facts are revealed, the fewer opportunities the investigator has to find a loophole in the story.
The narrative balance is the ninth issue to be analyzed throughout the oral or written statement. Prolog, critical event and aftermath are the essential elements of the story. The major part is the critical event, and it should take approximately 40-60% of the retelling while the prolog and aftermath should be close to 20-35% each. If a misbalance is present, it implies that the narration lacks crucial facts that have been omitted for a cause. Finally, yet importantly, the mean length of utterance, which is calculated by dividing the total number of words by a total number of sentences, is crucial. If the interviewee starts speaking in significantly shorter or longer sentences, it means that he or she is anxious. In this case, the investigator shall consider this part of the speech thoroughly. Thus, many issues should be analyzed when interviewing with a suspect. The attentive attitude toward linguistics may significantly assist in finding the deceptive patterns in the speech.
Cheating is the use of unauthorized information to meet academic requirements. Despite nurses being expected to observe high moral and ethical standards, evidence from prior studies indicates that about 80% of nursing students engage in cheating activities to influence their academic performance (Devine & Chin, 2018). The most common types of cheating in nursing include copying tests and homework, referring to materials during tests, and collaborations without permission (Devine & Chin, 2018). During my early years in nursing school, I witnessed a case where students discussed an assignment without the professor’s consent.
Investigations on the causes of academic dishonesty acts are critical to achieving academic integrity in nursing education. According to Devine and Chin (2018), some of the strategies that can help curb academic dishonesty include regular conversations about honesty and integrity, establishing anti-cheating pledges, and administering the same assessment in different versions. Additionally, learning should incorporate various assessment styles and discouraging statements that instill fear in students, such as “if you don’t pass this test, you will repeat the whole year.” The high prevalence of dishonesty has many consequences in the nursing profession (Devine & Chin, 2018). Eradicating academic cheating should be the prime focus of all nursing institutions.
Self-Reflection on Integrity
Fortunately, I have never been involved in cheating, and I get troubled whenever I witness such an activity. Society believes that nurses have high moral integrity levels; thus, they get entrusted with people’s lives. Therefore, cheating violates the trust bestowed on nurses by the public (Devine & Chin, 2018). Learning institutions should take stringent actions against students engaging in such prohibited acts to curb the phenomenon, which is on the rise in learning institutions. I am willing to interfere with upholding academic integrity by reporting mischievous actions in my class. First, the parties involved should be warned, and if the behaviour persists, the professor needs to be secretly notified to collect evidence. The professor should then present the case to the school administration for action. The involved student requires a chance for self-defence, and necessary action is taken depending on the available evidence.
References
Devine, C. A., & Chin, E. D. (2018). Integrity in nursing students: A concept analysis. Nurse Education Today, 60, 133-138. Web.
In the academic world, tests are used to gauge the level of understanding that has been achieved by the student. As such, failing a test demonstrates a lack of understanding by the students and may lead to many negative repercussions. For this reason, students at all levels strive to ensure that they pass in their tests therefore reaping the benefits of good academic performances.
While some students rely on legitimate means such as intensive reading and carrying out exercises prior to the test so as to increase their likelihood of passing, others resort to the illegal means of cheating. This paper shall discuss the best examples of cheating on test and compare their relative costs and benefits. In addition to this, the paper shall try to shed light as to why some students engage in this practice while others do not.
Of the various forms of cheating in existence, arguably the most prevalent one is the use of cheat notes. In this case, students enter into examination areas with written material that may contain answers to the questions that they anticipate.
By carefully concealing this material, the student’s can avoid the detection by supervisors and utilize this material to cheat in exams with favorable results. The major benefit of this method is the accuracy level since the cheating material is obtained from text books, lectures or other decisive authorities on the subject.
Students write down material that they find hard to understand and use it in exams setting. This method of cheating is favored by most students since an individual can carry it out on their own without relying on outside help. The major disadvantage of this cheating technique is that there exists physical evidence of the cheating act which may incriminate the student.
Another form of cheating involves soliciting answers from a fellow student who is better in the subject at hand. By pooling their knowledge, students utilizing this method can obtain higher results than they would have if they relied on their own individual efforts. This method is especially invaluable in instances where written evidence of cheating would be undesirable.
In cases whereby an exam invigilator is suspicious of cheating, he/she would have a hard time proving it since there is no evidence. Another benefit of this method is that as opposed to the writing of cheat notes method where a student cannot anticipate all questions, in this method, the cheaters can answer a wide array of questions so long as one of them knows the answer.
A disadvantage with this method is the lack of clarity since the supposed “authority on the subject” may not know the right answer. Some exam environments also demand great physical distances between the participants therefore making covert communication hard.
Having discussed the various examples of cheating, it would be worthwhile to highlight why some people engage in this degenerative behavior while others do not. Lack of proper preparation for exams leads to some student’s cheating since they wish to avoid failure. A lack of self confidence may also result in cheating since a student may deem himself/herself incapable of succeeding without external help. As such, most students who perform proper preparation before the exams do not see the need to cheat.
Students who have high confidence in their abilities to remember the concepts they have been taught also abstain from cheating. Another group which does not cheat is students who are afraid of the consequences of being caught in the act of cheating.
This paper set out to highlight various methods of cheating and outline reasons why some people cheat while others do not. From the discussions presented herein, it is evident that the major motivation for cheating is to excel in exams. The paper has suggested that the fear of being caught is what makes some students shy away from cheating or adopt one cheating method and not another. Nevertheless, cheating is illegal and should be avoided by all students by making proper preparations prior to the tests.
Cheating on exams is a violation of school’s policies. The research focuses on the effect of cheating on the college exams. The research discusses three distinct effects of cheating on the college exams. Cheating on the college exams is demoralising.
Another Test Will Uncover the Dishonest Act.
After passing the exams, Tim West (West, 2004) emphasized that another test will uncover the cheating activity. Normally, the teacher doubts the cheating student’s high college exam score. Consequently, the teacher may investigate the truthfulness of the student’s high college test score. The teacher may conduct another test to determine the validity of the student’s high score. The follow-up quiz shows strong evidence of the cheating occurrence.
Cheating shames the students.
Depending on the cheating student’s cultural background, Tibbetts (1999) reiterated that the teacher’s spotting of the cheating in progress brings shame on the student involved. Normally, the teacher takes the cheating student’s paper and marks it as cheating. The student receives an automatic failed grade.
The teacher reports the students to the school administrators for disciplinary action. The school administration officer or guidance officer reprimands the students. The repeated acts of cheating force the school administrators and teachers to implement severe punishment on the erring student.
Cheating affects other classmates
In terms of ethics, Tim West (2004) theorized that cheating in class affects the other students. One student feels that cheating in class is unfair to the other students. The cheater copies the answers of the nearest intelligent room seatmate. In some instances, the cheater unintentionally copies the wrong answers of the less intelligent classmate.
Conclusion
In the nutshell, the post agrees with the thesis statement. Cheating on the college academic test is demoralizing. After getting a passing score, another test exposes the student’s cheating activity. The teacher’s spotting of a student cheating on college exams lowers the cheating student’s self esteem. Classmate eyewitnesses often spread the news of the cheating activity. Cheating on class tests causes the other students to cry foul. Indeed, cheating on the college tests is a transgression of the school’s policies.
References
Tibbetts, S. G.,(1999). Differences Between Women and Men Regarding Decisions To Commit Test Cheating. Research in Higher Education, 40 (1), 323 -342.
West, T. S., (2004). Cheating and Moral Judgment in the College Classroom. Journal of Business Ethics , 54(2), 173 -183.
Cheating in the academic context has got several descriptions, some of which are; referring to an unauthorized material in an examination room, referring from a colleague’s work, acquiring examination papers prior to the examination date, and paying someone to sit for you the exam, among others. More than 70% of students in High school admitted to having been involved in cheating in one way or another. (David and Ludvigson, 120)1. It is, therefore, right to say that cheating is widespread in every part of the world, and it is escalating in all levels of education. This is so because if one advances to a new stage/level through cheating, that particular person is less likely to drop the habit for fear of being dropped out. Most students who get involved in cheating are tempted to believe that it is right to cheat, as long as you are not caught.
Causes of Cheating in High School
Everyone wants to be a top achiever; to be so; one has to get good grades, which of cause comes in handy with being respected and receiving honors in addition to getting admission to top institutions. To achieve this, students, if given a chance, can stop at anything to get those high grades, even if it means cheating. Those individuals who do not cheat are, therefore, disadvantaged and suffer from unfair competition; this may lead to them being viewed as fools. Many students may join the bandwagon, and for those that are already involved in cheating, they will just stay in the game.
Technology also has a role to play in aiding this game. Students who are able to access such gadgets as the internet and mobile phones are more likely to cheat, as they are able to share answers. The social-economic status of the students will determine the level by which the student can cheat. One has to have good finances to be able to afford the materials, download information, and or send it to a friend. It is, therefore, apparent that those students who can access more money are involved in cheating than the less fortunate ones.
On the other hand, advancing in age comes with its disadvantages as far as cheating is concerned. During the lower levels of a child’s education, he/she believes that cheating is morally unacceptable, a belief that changes as the child advances in age. “Cheating is a personal foul.”2. Janis argues that: at Pre-School(age 3-4), the students regard cheating as immoral; at the Elementary Level(age5-6), they do admit that cheating is bad, but it can be done depending on the situation and that the temptation is too hard to resist. Middle School (age 11-13) is where real cheating begins; this is said to be motivated by the fact that so much emphasis has been put on the grades and the student feels pressured to excel. At this age, they know that it is an offense to cheat, but they still go right ahead to commit it.
A survey, 3 In 1995 showed more and more students, both junior and senior in high school in the US, cheat. 78% admitted to having cheated, and 89% said that it is common in their schools. They reasoned that they do cheat because of the emphasis that has been put on good grades, cheating is easy, and also that cheating offenders go unpunished.4. Cheating is not only by those perceived to be weak but is also reported to be very high among the students that are College bound. Such students resort to cheating since they tend to get involved in so much; for example, they want to join the best sporting clubs and perform to their best, they want to get involved in community service and at the same time give out their best in their academic work to be able to make it to the university. Josephson, the principal of Josephson Institute of Ethics, quoted that “We’ve never heard things like, “We have too much homework,” “it is more of, “I’m involved in basketball, I’m involved in the Glee Club, and I’m involved in …”.
Teachers are sometimes suspected of manipulating the results of their students. They do so in order to be awarded incentives and honors as the best performers to appear as titans. The well-established schools that command a good amount of funds can therefore buy their way more easily than those that are monetarily challenged.
Lack of self-esteem and a feeling that they are under pressure to get good grades may drive students to cheat. The competitive nature of the education system from classmates, as well as those in other schools, is also a contributing factor. The student, apart from having misplaced priorities, has a lot of academic work, on top of other things that they get themselves involved in. Therefore, by the time the tests are brought, they feel ill-prepared and believe that they can not face the examinations without some external aid.
The academic teaching staff is more often viewed to be uncaring, and that they teach abstract things to what they set. This is coupled with the fact that national exams are set using the relevant national standards, with the assumption that all students taking the national exams have completed their syllabuses. In cases where the syllabus was not completed because of one reason or another, the affected students might panic and resort to cheating. The parents or guardians, who are economically advantaged, can afford to hire private tutors for their sons and daughters to avoid such ugly scenarios of cheating. In this context, those parents and guardians that are financially disadvantaged might have their children being involved in cheating.5.
A 6*2 ANOVA “What do Elementary Children Think” was done by the Department of Psychology in Missouri Western State University comparing two schools of different socio-economic statuses. It was found out that the students in the lower socio-economic status were more likely to view cheating as okay.
Due to the prevailing economic circles, some students have decided to get involved in part-time jobs to boost their earnings. The time spent while working is likely to eat on their academic hours, leading to lower grades, un-submitted assignments, absenteeism, and eventual drop-out. Balancing work and academic demands will be a great challenge to such working students, and the victims may end up fatigued and with low marks. “They will be academically rich but psychologically poor” (Greenberger and Steinberg (1986) 6And therefore learn more about how to cheat and steal.
Conclusion
When one is involved in any form of cheating, the results he obtains do not reflect his ability. Such individuals can therefore not defend their scores, and they have no confidence in them. Literally speaking, it is impossible for them to gauge their abilities because they have never handled the tasks without external help. Cheating can lead to the creation of underperformers in the field where they are to apply what they learned in school. High school students who get involved in cheating and rig their way to the universities risk being dropped out or suspended from University if he/she finds out that the rules and conditions in the University are so tight and he/she can not continue cheating. Peer pressure to help a friend out by sharing their work or even sitting for a paper on their behalf is another cause of this menace. This can be prompted by the eroded sense of academic integrity, and ethical values witnessed in High Schools.
In case a teacher suspects any sign of cheating, he/she needs to act immediately. “Do not join the 20-percent staff members that ignore the evidence of cheating.”7. Get to know why the student is cheating by talking to him and listening to his side of the story on the matter. Advice on how to go about handling such cases is numerous.8. To help students on how they can use other sources in their academic works and on how to differentiate between plagiarizing, paraphrase, and direct citation, adopt Crew’s style.9. If a student is caught in the act, then the relevant authorities need not rush to physical punishment. The best thing is to make him repeat all the tests under very tight supervision to prove that he did not cheat in the other papers; then, he should repeat the same year to delay his graduation to help him focus on what was wrong with what he did.
Bibliography
“Academic Dishonesty in Our Classrooms: Instructional Exchange”, 1990, 2(2), 1-4; (Newsletter from the Office of University Assessment and Intellectual Skills Program: Western Michigan University.
Barbara Gross Davis, Tools of Teaching: San Francisco, 1993.
Brian Jacob and Steven Levitt; In Rotten Apples: An Investigation of the Prevalence and Predictors of Teacher Cheating (NBER Working Paper No. 9413).
Crews Frederick The Random House Handbook, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992, pp. 181-183).
D, Levine, (1995). “Cheating in our schools: A national scandal”: Reader’s Digest, 147, 65 70.
Davis & Ludvigson, (1995): “Academic dishonesty and a proposal for remediation”: Teaching of Psychology, 22, 119-121.
Davis Barbara “Handling a Plagiarism Interview”: The TA at UCLA Newsletter, 1987, no. 20, p. 10. (Available from the Office of Instructional Development, University of California at Los Angeles)
E. Greenberger & Steinberg, 1986). “When Teenagers Work”: New York: Basic Books.
Jacob Brian and Levitt Steven Catching Cheating Teachers: The Results of an Unusual Experiment in Implementing Theory (NBER Working Paper No. 9414).
Jacobs Janis, a specialist in Social Development, Cheating is a personal foul: Cheating through ages”.
R. I. Aiken, “Detecting, Understanding and Controlling for Cheating on Tests.” Research in Higher Education, 1991, 32(6), 725-736.
Footnotes
Davis & Ludvigson, (1995): “Academic dishonesty and a proposal for remediation”: Teaching of Psychology, 22, 119-121.
Jacobs Janis, a specialist in Social Development, Cheating is a personal foul: Cheating through ages.”
Levine, D. (1995). “Cheating in our schools: A national scandal”: Reader’s Digest, 147, 65-70.
Series of “Who’s Who Among American High School Students” Poll of 3, 123; November 1995.
Aiken, L. R. “Detecting, Understanding, and Controlling for Cheating on Tests.” Research in Higher Education, 1991, 32(6), 725-736.
Greenberger, E., Steinberg (1986). “When Teenagers Work”: New York: Basic Books.
Tabachnick, Keith-Spiegel and Pope, 1991.
Barbara Davis, “Handling a Plagiarism Interview.” The TA at UCLA Newsletter, 1987, no. 20, p.10. (Available from the Office of Instructional Development, the University of California at Los Angeles).
Frederick Crews The Random House Handbook, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992, pp. 181-183).