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Perception of Private and Public Students in Classroom Cheating

Chapter I

Introduction

A. Background of the Study

While trying to acquire knowledge and skills in college the

students sometimes experience difficulties regarding their tests

and examinations. They resort to some acts which violate honesty

and trusts in the form of cheating. The students who engage or

practice cheating have various individual reasons to justify

these dishonest activities for the sake of passing. Why the

students cheat and the effect of cheating as well as the thoughts

and views of those who do not practice cheating are the aspects

looked into in this study.

B. Objectives

This study aimed to achieve the following objectives;

1. Know whether students engage in cheating.

2. Determine the effect of cheating.

3. Know anti-cheating acts.

C. Significance of the Study

This study is beneficial in the following ways:

The students – they will have additional knowledge

concerning the reasons why some of their fellow students

practice cheating. They can be more aware that cheating is

not the accepted and normal way of facing the challenges of

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test and examinations and must not be done to justify a

wrongful method of studying.

The teachers – they will be able to understand better

why students engage in cheating and can devise teaching

methods and approaches which will make the students

discouraged from cheating. The cheaters will avoid cheating

if they can learn and understand better the things being

taught and strive to pass in an honest way.

The school – it will enjoy a higher prestige as an

educational institution with students who struggle to learn

and acquire knowledge and skills in honest ways and serious

study.

D. Scope and Limitation

This study focused on the perception of the students on the

practice of cheating in the classroom and considered the aspects

of those students who practice cheating, effect of cheating and

those against cheating. The data were gathered from selected

students of two universities, WMSU and Ateneo de Zamboanga

University enrolled for school year 2011=2012.

E. Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined operationally:

Cheating – refers to the act of dishonesty during

examinations to be able to pass using techniques and strategies

undetected by the teachers and fellow students.

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Perception – refers to the views, thoughts and beliefs of

the respondents/students towards the act of cheating, for or

against it.

Chapter II

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Why do college students cheat? The role of individual

factors although McCabe and Treviño’s primary focus has been on

the role of context in influencing academic dishonesty, some of

their work also has expanded understanding of the relation

between individual influences and academic dishonesty. For

example, McCabe (1992) showed that college students use a variety

of neutralization techniques (e.g., rationalization, denial,

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deflecting blame to others, condemning the accusers) to explain

away their dishonest behavior. McCabe and Treviño (1997) also

studied some of the more common individual difference factors

that have been studied in the literature. Although they found

these factors to be less important than contextual factors in

their work, they are nonetheless significant correlates of

cheating among college students. For example, prior studies

(e.g., Anton & Michael, 1983; Haines, Diekhoff, LaBeff, & Clark,

1986) have shown that younger students tend to cheat more than

older students and our data supported this result.

However, it is not clear how much of this relation is

accounted for by age versus class rank. These two variables are

strongly correlated, and McCabe and Treviño suggested that many

1st- and 2nd-year students who find themselves in large lecture

courses, perhaps enrolled in an elective they really do not want

to take in the first place, find it very easy to rationalize

cheating. They often see a lot of cheating among others in these

courses, faculty cannot possibly monitor all of the students in

such large classes, and the students often are bored with the

material. In contrast, 3rd- and 4th-year students seem to be more

enthusiastic about their courses and faculty. At smaller schools,

these students talk about the personal relationships they have

developed with faculty in their major, often making it harder to

consider cheating in those courses.

Another individual factor that has received much attention

in the literature is gender. The majority of prior studies have

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reported that men cheat more than women (e.g., Aiken, 1991;

Davis, Grover, Becker, & McGregor, 1992; Ward, 1986), but several

studies have found no difference between men and women (e.g.,

Cheating in Institutions 227 Baird, 1980; Haines et al., 1986).

Although McCabe and Treviño (1997) found the more traditional

result (i.e., men self-reported more cheating than women), the

data suggest that within similar majors, gender differences are

often very small.

For example, women majoring in engineering, a major one

might have considered male-dominated a few decades ago, talk

about the need to compete by the “men’s rules” to be successful

in this major. Thus, generally higher levels of cheating were

found among women in engineering compared to women in other

majors, and women majoring in engineering reported cheating at

rates comparable to men majoring in engineering.

McCabe and Treviño (1997) also examined several other

individual-level variables. For example, they found support for

the well-documented conclusion that students with lower GPAs

report more cheating than students with higher GPAs. They also

reported that students engaged in intercollegiate athletics and

other extracurricular activities self-reported more cheating,

perhaps reflecting the time demands that these activities place

on students and their decision to take various “short cuts” to

stay up to date and remain competitive in their coursework.

McCabe et al.’s (1999) qualitative study supported these

findings and identified other factors that can influence

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cheating, including pressure to get high grades, parental

pressures, a desire to excel, pressure to get a job, laziness, a

lack of responsibility, a lack of character, poor self-image, a

lack of pride in a job well done, and a lack of personal

integrity. (Preventing Cheating in Academic Institutions.)

The research discussed here represents 1 decade of work

studying factors that influence

cheating among college students. Numerous insights have emerged

from this work that faculty, administrators, academics, and

students can use to help reduce cheating on their campuses.

The primary implication of this work is that cheating can be

most effectively addressed at the institutional level. On many

campuses, the fundamental elements of an academic honor code may

be a particularly useful tool for colleges and universities who

seek to reduce student cheating. However, at an even broader

level, academic institutions are advised to consider ways of

creating an “ethical community” on their campuses—one that

includes clear communication of rules and standards, moral

socialization of community members, and mutual respect between

students and faculty, and one that extends certain privileges to

its students (e.g., unproctored exams, self-scheduled exams,

etc.). However, building an ethical community also might involve

techniques such as creating a “hidden curriculum” in which

students not only receive formal ethics instruction but also

learn by actively discussing ethical issues and acting on them.

The hidden curriculum might include allowing students to

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participate in the many opportunities for teaching and 228

MCCABE, Treviño, Butterfield learning about ethical issues that

arise in the day-to-day operations of an educational institution.

In such an environment, messages about ethics and values are

implicitly sent to and received by students throughout their

college experience, both in and out of the classroom. (Treviño &

McCabe, 1994).

The research of McCabe et al. (1999) also suggests that

cheating behavior can be effectively managed in the classroom.

Insights from this qualitative study suggest that faculty members

can pursue numerous strategies, including clearly communicating

expectations regarding cheating behavior, establishing policies

regarding appropriate conduct, and encouraging students to abide

by those policies. The more important factors identified in this

study. In addition, McCabe and Pavela (1997) suggested 10

principles of academic integrity for faculty represent strategies

that faculty can employ to minimize cheating in their classrooms.

Several of these factors point to the importance of student

involvement in reducing cheating behavior. It should not be

surprising that many of the factors mirror the suggestions

offered by students. This suggests that faculty and students may

not be very far apart in their views on curbing college cheating

and further indicates that these groups can work together toward

the goal of establishing an ethical community.

(homeworktips.about.com/.../collegecheating.h.)

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Cheating is a problem among many college students: in a

recent study, 56 percent of graduate business students and 47

percent of non-business graduate students admitted to cheating

one or more times in the past year.

Engaging in academic dishonesty has systemic implications

beyond the classroom it hurts fellow students by skewing the

grading system, threatens the integrity and reputation of the

university, and can damage businesses that hire graduates who

don't have the skills they are expected to have.

Analyzing academic dishonesty through a microeconomic lens

helps illuminate what drives students to cheat, and shows how the

demand, supply and price of the cheating "market" function.

By reducing the "cost" of enforcement and raising the

"price" of cheating, and by discussing cheating openly among

students and faculty, the W. P. Carey School has made strides in

reducing cheating among its students.

A review was conducted of the results of 107studies of the

prevalence and correlates of cheating among college students

published between 1970 and 1996.The studies found cheating to be

more common in the 1969-75 and 1986-96 time periods than between

1976 and 1985. Among the strongest correlates of cheating were

having moderate expectations of success, having cheated in the

past, studying under poor conditions, holding positive attitudes

toward cheating, perceiving that social norms support cheating,

and anticipating a large reward for success. However, an

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important limitation on the conclusions drawn from this research

is that many variables were included in only one or a few

studies. A model of the antecedents of cheating is proposed and

the implications of this model for the identification of students

at risk for cheating and controlling cheating. (www.google.com)

Chapter III

Research Methodology

A. Method Used

In this research the descriptive quantitative research

design was used to investigate the situation regarding the

perception of private and public college students towards

classroom cheating. This research design is suited to this kind

of study as it tried to look into the present condition among

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students. The survey method with prepared questions was used as

data gathering instrument.

B. Subjects of the Study

The subjects in this study were ten (10) BSED First Year

College students from the Western Mindanao State University and

ten (10) Accountancy students from the Ateneo de Zamboanga

University all enrolled for school year 2011-2012.

C. Instruments Used

The researchers prepared a questionnaire-checklist as the

instrument to gather data in this study. It had two parts: Part I

is the Personal data- name (optional), age, school, course, year

level. Part II consisted of questions which touched on the

practice of cheating, effect of cheating, and anti-cheating acts.

D. Procedure

The researchers first obtained permission from the Dean of

the College of arts and Sciences of western Mindanao State

University to conduct this study. The respondents were selected

using the purposive sampling technique. The researchers

personally distributed the questionnaire-checklist to the

respondents. The research instruments were immediately retrieved

after the respondents answered.

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E. Statistical Treatment

The responses of the respondents were treated as the raw

data in this study and were carefully computed, tabulated,

analyzed and interpreted.

The frequency and percentage distribution of the responses

were determined.

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Chapter IV

PRESENTATION, ANAYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

A. Analysis Table 1. Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Responses

of 10 BSED Respondents/Students From Western Mindanao State

University

QUESTIONYES NO TOTA

LN % N % N

1. Do you practice cheating? 7 70 3 30 102. Can you avoid cheating? 1

0100

0 0 10

3. Does cheating help you in youracademic performance?

5 50 5 50 10

4. Do you agree that school shouldimpose heavier punishment and morestrict rules on cheating?

7 70 3 30 10

5. Do you advocate anti-cheating? 5 50 5 50 106. Do you think you can survive testswithout cheating?

10

100

0 0s 10

7. Do you think students make cheating ahabit?

6 60 4 40 10

8. Do you use strategies and techniquesto cheat?

4 40 6 60 10

9. Do you think cheating affect yourmode of study?

7 70 3 30 10

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10. Are students becoming too dependenton cheating?

7 70 3 30 10

Total 78

78 22

22 100

Table 1. shows the frequency and percentage distribution of

responses of 10 BSED respondents/students from Western Mindanao

State University.

In Question No. 1. Do you practice cheating?, There were 70

or70 % who answered Yes, indicating that majority of the

respondents practice cheating, while only 3 or 30% did not.

In Question No. 2. Can you avoid cheating? All the 10 or

100% of the respondents said Yes, showing that all of the

respondents can avoid cheating if they want to.

In Question No. 3. Does cheating help you in your academic

performance?, there were 5 or 50% who answered Yes who admitted

cheating helped them in their academic performance, while an

equal 5 or 50% said No.

In Question No. 4. Do you agree that school should impose

heavier punishment and more strict rules on cheating?, there were

7 0r 70 % a majority answered Yes and only 3 or 30 % No or did

not agree.

In Question No. 5. Do you advocate anti-cheating?, there

were 5 or 5 0% who answered Yes and while another 5 or 50% said

No.

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In Question No. 6. Do you think you can survive testswithout cheating?, all of the 10 or 100% of the respondents saidYes, indicating they can survive tests without cheating.

In Question No. 7. Do you think students make cheating a

habit?, There were many or 6 or 60 % who answered Yes while 4 or

40 % said No.

In Question No. 8. Do you use strategies and techniques to

cheat?, There were 4 or 40 % who said Yes and many or 6 or 60 %

answered they did not.

In Question No. 9. Do you think cheating affect your mode of

study?, Majority or 7 or 70 % admitted it affected their mode of

study, while 3 or 30% said No.

In Question No. 10. Are students becoming too dependent on

cheating? There were 7 or 70 % said Yes ,while 3 or 30% it did

not.

A total 66 or 66% answered Yes and 34 or 34% said No.

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Table 2. The Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the

Responses of ADZU/Respondents Students

QUESTIONYES NO TOTA

L

N % N %1Do you practice cheating? 6 60 4 40 102. Can you avoid cheating? 6 60 4 40 103. Does cheating help you in youracademic performance?

4 40 6 60 10

4. Do you agree that school shouldimpose heavier punishment and morestrict rules on cheating?

8 80 2 20 10

5. Do you advocate anti-cheating? 5 50 5 50 106. Do you think you can survive testswithout cheating?

10 10 0 0 10

7. Do you think students make cheatinga habit?

10 10 0 0 10

8. Do you use strategies and techniquesto cheat?

4 40 6 60 10

9. Do you think cheating affect yourmode of study?

7 70 3 30 10

10. Are students becoming too dependenton cheating?

6 60 4 40 10

Total 66 66 34 34 100

Table2. indicates the frequency and percentage distribution

of the responses of the ten

respondents/students of Accountancy from Ateneo de Zamboanga

University.

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In Question No. 1. Do you practice cheating?, There were 70

or70 % who answered Yes, indicating that majority of the

respondents practice cheating, while only 3 or 30% did not.

In Question No. 2. Can you avoid cheating? There were 6 or

60% of the respondents

who said Yes, indicating that many can avoid cheating, while 4 or

40% said they could not.

In Question No. 3. Does cheating help you in your academic

performance?, there were 4 or 40% who answered Yes showing that

these students believed cheating helped them in their academic

performance, while a bigger number or 6 or 60% said it did not.

In Question No. 4. Do you agree that school should impose

heavier punishment and more strict rules on cheating?, there were

8 0r 8 % a majority who answered Yes, indicating their desire

that the school should impose heavier punishment and more strict

rules on cheating. There were only 2 or 20 % who said No.

In Question No. 5. Do you advocate anti-cheating?, there

were 5 or 5 0% who answered Yes and another 5 or 50% who said

No showing the students were split in their beliefs or perception

when it comes to advocacy on anti-cheating.

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In Question No. 6. Do you think you can survive testswithout cheating?, all of the 10 or 100% of the respondents saidYes, indicating they can survive tests without cheating.

In Question No. 7. Do you think students make cheating a

habit?, all or 10 or 100% of the respondents said the students

make cheating a habit, which implies a not acceptable normal

tendency while studying.

In Question No. 8. Do you use strategies and techniques to

cheat?, There were 4 or 40 % who said Yes and many or 6 or 60 %

answered they did not.

In Question No. 9. Do you think cheating affect your mode of

study?, Majority or 7 or 70 % admitted it affected their mode of

study, while 3 or 30% said No.

In Question No. 10. Are students becoming too dependent on

cheating? There were 6 or 60 % who said Yes indicating the

perception that the students are becoming too dependent on

cheating. while 4 or 40% said it did not.

A total 78 or 78% answered Yes and 22 or 22% said No.

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Chapter V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary

The findings in this study indicated that almost all of the

respondents/students practice cheating, and gave some effects in

their studies like it becomes a habit and make them too dependent

on cheating. They also perceived that the school should impose

heavier punishment and more strict rules on cheating.

Conclusion

In consideration of the data gathered and the findings revealed

in this study the following conclusions are drawn:

1. There are many students who practice cheating among the

respondents/students from Ateneo de Zamboanga University

while lesser from the Western Mindanao State University.

2. The effects of cheating for those students who engage in

cheating were in the forms of being helped in their

academic performance, affect their mode of study, and

they develop the habit of cheating and becoming too

dependent on cheating.

3. There are also many students from both educational

institutions who advocate on anti-cheating and want the

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school to impose heavier punishment and more strict rules

against cheating.

Recommendation

On the basis of the findings and conclusions in this study

the following are recommended:

1. The teachers should adopt more effective methods of

teaching to facilitate the teaching learning process and

encourage the students to study better and practice

honesty instead of teaching.

2. The teachers and the school administration must

coordinate efforts to prevent students from heating

through imposition of heavier punishment for cheating and

also adopt more strict rules against cheating.

3. The students must b motivated in honest studying and

moral values of honesty consistently and constantly

inculcated in the minds of the students.

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Bibliography

Books

Best, John W & Khan, James V. (2003) Research in Education.New York: Allyn

& Bacon.

Internet

www.google.com

MACBEE 1992. Preventing Cheating in Academic Institutions.

Treviño & McCabe, 1994

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homeworktips.about.com/.../collegecheating.h.

Table of ContentsPage

Title ……………………………………………………………………………………………… iAcknowledgement ………………………………………………………………………..

iiList of Table ………………………………………………………………………………….. iiTable of Content ……………………………………………………………………………. iv

CHAPTER I

Introduction ………………………………………………… 1

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A. Background of the Study ………………………………………………..1

B. Objectives ………………………………………………… 1C. Significance of the Study ………………………………………...........

2D. Scope and Limitation ………………………………………………… 2E. Definition of Terms …………………………………………………

2

CHAPTER IIREVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES ……………………..

3 Related Literature ………………………

3

CHAPTER IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY ………………………………………… ……………….. 7

A. Method Used ………………………………………………………….. 7B. Subjects of the Study ……………………………………………………..

7C. Instrument Used ……………………………………………………………. 7D. Procedure ……………………………………………………………………… 7E. Statistical Treatment ………………………………………………………

8

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION, ANAYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA ………………9A. Analysis ………………………………………………………………………….. 9

CHAPTER VSUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION …………….

13Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 13Recommendation …………………………………………………………………………….. 14

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Bibliography …………………………………………………………………….. …………………………15

Western State University CollegeBaliwasan, Normal Road, Zamboanga City

Research Proposal on

Perception of Private and Public Students in Classroom Cheating

Submitted to: Mrs. Pilar Caparas

Professor

Submitted by:

Mary Joy Roque

Murphy Soler

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Jestoni Tanudra

BSED 1-A

MARCH 2012

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank the following for helping us make

this research a successful one:

To the LORD for giving us the courage and wisdom, which lead

us to come up a very wonderful research.

To our subject teacher, Mrs. Pilar S. Caparas for giving us

the opportunity to conduct this research.

To our parents, who gave their full support, when it comes

to financial and moral needs.

And to the cooperative respondents who participated and gave

valuable data which contributed much to the successful completion

of this study, we are very grateful.

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List of Table

Page

Table 1. Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Responses of 10 BSED Respondents/Students From Western Mindanao State University ……………………. 9

Table 2. The Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Responses of ADZU/Respondents Students …………………………………………………………………………..

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STUDENT’S PRAYERO, dearest God, our

Almighty Father in heaven,please forgive me all mysins, against you, myfellowmen, and abuse ofmyself, and your creation.Please make it afulfillment in me as yousaid in Psalms 3:8 (TEV),the LORD says, “I willteach you the way youshould go, I will instructyou and advise you.”Please give me also theknowledge and wisdom whichcome from you alone as itis written in James 3:17(TEV), “But the wisdomfrom above is pure firstof all; it is alsopeaceful, gentle andfriendly; it is full ofcompassion and produces aharvest of good deeds; itis free from prejudice andhypocrisy.” And may youremind me always dearest

God, as you said in John8:31-32 (TEV), “If youobey my teaching, you arereally my disciples, youwill know the truth, andthe truth will set youfree.” And most of all,let me remember always Odearest God, that withoutyou, there’s nothing I cando and fill me withtruthfulness, humility andkindness. May this prayerbe granted by you throughour LORD and Master JesusChrist guided by the HolySpirit. . . Amen Jesus

STUDENT’S PRAYERO, dearest God, our

Almighty Father in heaven,please forgive me all mysins, against you, myfellowmen, and abuse ofmyself, and your creation.Please make it afulfillment in me as yousaid in Psalms 3:8 (TEV),the LORD says, “I will

teach you the way youshould go, I will instructyou and advise you.”Please give me also theknowledge and wisdom whichcome from you alone as itis written in James 3:17(TEV), “But the wisdomfrom above is pure firstof all; it is alsopeaceful, gentle andfriendly; it is full ofcompassion and produces aharvest of good deeds; itis free from prejudice andhypocrisy.” And may youremind me always dearestGod, as you said in John8:31-32 (TEV), “If youobey my teaching, you arereally my disciples, youwill know the truth, andthe truth will set youfree.” And most of all,let me remember always Odearest God, that withoutyou, there’s nothing I cando and fill me with

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truthfulness, humility andkindness. May this prayerbe granted by you throughour LORD and Master JesusChrist guided by the HolySpirit. . . Amen Jesus

STUDENT’S PRAYERO, dearest God, our

Almighty Father in heaven,please forgive me all mysins, against you, myfellowmen, and abuse ofmyself, and your creation.Please make it afulfillment in me as yousaid in Psalms 3:8 (TEV),the LORD says, “I willteach you the way youshould go, I will instructyou and advise you.”Please give me also theknowledge and wisdom whichcome from you alone as itis written in James 3:17(TEV), “But the wisdomfrom above is pure firstof all; it is alsopeaceful, gentle and

friendly; it is full ofcompassion and produces aharvest of good deeds; itis free from prejudice andhypocrisy.” And may youremind me always dearestGod, as you said in John8:31-32 (TEV), “If youobey my teaching, you arereally my disciples, youwill know the truth, andthe truth will set youfree.” And most of all,let me remember always Odearest God, that withoutyou, there’s nothing I cando and fill me withtruthfulness, humility andkindness. May this prayerbe granted by you throughour LORD and Master JesusChrist guided by the HolySpirit. . . Amen Jesus

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