A Problem of Cheating in School - Research Paper Example

Cheating in school is a vice that has come to plague many academic s, with each survey conducted showing that it is ever increasing. This paper seeks to address the reasons behind why students cheat in school and what factors influence the increase in this problem. Furthermore, it seeks to show that despite the fact that many students think it is a bad thing; they still end up cheating as well. Introduction Cheating in school can be characterized as the presentation of work that is not one’s own as that which has been done personally. Cheating can take many forms and these include the sharing of the work of another, purchasing term papers online, as well as paying someone else to do work on one’s behalf. Over the past few decades, the number of students who get involved in cheating has gone up dramatically causing a lot of concern among teachers and parents about the student’s ability to excel academically on their own. While in previous years, it was those struggling students who were most likely to cheat, this is currently not the case because even those students who can be considered bright have been caught doing so. Many teachers have concluded that in the modern education system, quite a large number of students, in fact the majority, tend to end up cheating in at least one occasion, many because of the pressure involved to perform better. Cheating in school is no longer as rare and as a source of stigma as it previously was and this is because of the increased competition that has developed in the education system. Only the best students get the opportunity to go to the top institutions of higher learning such as universities and graduate schools. To achieve this end, many students have decided to do anything they can to achieve the grades necessary to gain entry, including cheating. The getting of good grades has now become the focus of many students and the value of achieving academic excellence in their own right has slowly but surely faded away. Quite a number of students believe that what they do personally in the academic work, whether they cheat or not, does not affect the live of anyone else, and because of this, those who witness instances of cheating tend not to report it. Those students who cheat do not often feel guilty for doing so because they are sure that other students are doing the same, and that it is only fair for them to cheat so as not to be left at a disadvantage. The reason why cheating has become more prevalent in schools today is because even though cheaters get caught, the punishment which they are given is so light that it does not discourage other students from cheating. Literature Review Cheating is a vice that has developed because of the increasing pressure on students to show high academic performance through the achievement of high grades. It has been found that students tend to cheat more in math and science courses more than in others (Stone, Jawahar and Kisamore, 2009). The emergence of computers and the internet as tools for education has ensured that students have found it much easier to cheat than ever before. This is because students can now access and download papers, which they were supposed to do themselves, from websites that sell them. It has further been found that in previous years, male students were more likely to cheat than female students were, and this has been attributed to the fact that the former were often under more pressure to perform than the latter (Whitley, Nelson and Jones, 1999). However, current studies have shown that the differences in the levels of cheating between male and female students have decreased significantly, and it can, in fact be said that female students are currently as much likely to cheat as male students (McDaniel, 2010). The possibility of students cheating tends to begin at elementary school where students learn to break rules in order to gain an edge over their fellow students especially in competitions such as games. This desire to always be ahead of others ends up developing into the academic field where cheating becomes rampant, especially in high school. Studies have shown that students in high school get tempted to cheat because of the fact that they end up having misgivings in their academic abilities. There are often more opportunities and motivations to cheat in high school because the workload as well as means of teaching is not as simple as in lower levels of education. Many students find it hard to make a balance in their studies and this creates a situation where they end up concentrating on some topics at the expense of others. Furthermore, peer pressure is a major influencing factor in cheating, especially in high school since there are some students who cheat, not because they have to, but because they need to have the approval of their friends. Academic cheating tends to begin in high school and this is because of the emphasis on grades since it is grades, not academic excellence, which gets students to good universities (Klein, Levenburg, McKendall and Mothersell, 2007). Even those students who believe that cheating is wrong often do so in their bid to achieve good grades. It has been reported that as many as ninety percent of students surveyed have admitted to either cheating or in exams or copying the homework of their fellow students. Many students often cheat so that they can get to the top of their class and these believe that cheating is not a big deal because they did what they had to do to get good grades (McCabe and Trevino, 1996). A majority of those students who cheat are not caught since many have devised ingenious ways to do so, often from long experience. Hypothesis The key hypothesis of this study is: Cheating has become more rampant in schools than it was previously because of the desire by students to achieve better grades. Which will be tested against the alternative: If cheating were to be discouraged today, quite a large number of students would not be able to achieve the grades that they are currently achieving. Methodology This research will adopt a qualitative design that will explore the various aspects of cheating in school and it will be based on an analysis of the available previous researches carried regarding cheating. In addition, this study will adopt questionnaires, this will be carried out on a population of 10 students selected randomly to avoid biasness within the school to evaluate the hypothesis that cheating in schools is largely grade motivated and laxity on the educational institutions to fight the vice. The decision to adopt this approach when carrying out the research was made mainly because it is the best option through which to explore cheating in school and how it comes to affect the lives of both the students who participate in it and those who do not. This way, the research will be able to obtain the most relevant information that could be used to develop quantitative studies on the subject matter. The findings of the case study will be complimented by a survey of a range of related literature on the effect of cheating on the institutions where it is conducted as well as show how it is received by those whom it affects directly. A preference will be given to the most recent literature in order to make parallel between the substance of the study and the results that cheating might bring not only among the students involved, but also to those they deal with in future, such as employers. The information will be organized according to the themes that relate to the objectives of the subject that is being discussed. Population The target population of this research is 10 students from diverse high schools and colleges, who are more likely than other student populations to cheat. This student population has been selected because it is the one which is under the most pressure to perform in order to achieve excellent grades. The main characteristics of this population are that it contains students from the age of eighteen to about twenty five, ranging from high school to college. These students are not only under a lot of pressure to perform, but they are also looking towards achieving better futures for themselves. They therefore feel obliged to cheat in order to get to their goal of not only achieving what would be interpreted as academic excellence, but also a shot at going to the best schools and getting the best jobs. Instruments Three main instruments are to be used in this paper and they include the following; the study of diverse literature on the subject, the giving of questionnaires, and finally, conducting interviews. The use of the most recent literature on the subject will provide an insight of what is currently going on in the field. It will ensure that one is well versed in the reasons why students cheat as well as ensuring that one has the necessary knowledge of what other scholars are saying on the subject. Questionnaires, on the other hand, are discreet and this ensures that the students who fill up such questionnaires do it in all honesty because of the confidentiality involved. Conducting interviews will ensure that one gets the information directly from the students interviewed and will enable one to gauge the reaction of the interviewees to the questions they are asked. Discussion Since many students who cheat are not caught, it has encouraged others to participate in it, hence accounting for the increasing number of students who cheat every year. Instances of cheating have been found to be much higher in larger education institutions, since these do not have the time to look carefully into the work of every student who attends school there. There are other influences, which determine whether students get to cheat to achieve good grades, or not. One of these is because a student may see other students doing it and decide that it is only fair for them to chat too in order to have the same advantage as others. In addition, there are some institutions whose rules on cheating are vague; thus, encouraging students to cheat in order to achieve better grades. Furthermore, some teachers tend to have such a heavy workload, especially when marking the work of students that they fail to notice the instances of cheating in their work. Many students view cheating as a way to an end that is going to be extremely beneficial for them. Those students who cheat do not stop doing so at school, and in fact, many of them go on cheating even in the corporate world, where they end up cheating in their resumes in order to get the jobs they desire. Conclusion Cheating in school is one of the subjects that have for a long time, been widely researched, but while there is a lot of information concerning it, this practice is still one of those academic malpractices that are looked upon in a negative light. This practice is not a new phenomenon, since it is one which has been occurring since the education system became public and both teachers and parents emphasized an insistence on high grade in school. One of the most surprising factors concerning cheating is the large number of students, in fact the majority, who have cheated at one time during their academic lives. Such a high number of students who cheat just shows how much the education system has weakened, since students no longer focus on their studies as they previously did, and they instead focus on the grades that they are going to get. References Klein, H. A., Levenburg, N. M., McKendall, M., &Mothersell, W. (2007). Cheating during the college years: How do business school students compare? Journal of Business Ethics, 72(2), 197-206. McCabe, D. L., & Trevino, L. K. (1996). What we know about cheating in college.Change, 28. McDaniel, T. R. (2010). Cheating in school: What we know and what we can do. The Clearing House, 83(4), 150-151. Stone, T. H., Jawahar, I. M., &Kisamore, J. L. (2009). Using the theory of planned behavior and cheating justifications to predict academic misconduct. Career Development International, 14(3), 221-241. Whitley,B. E., Nelson, A. B., & Jones, C. J. (1999).Gender differences in cheating attitudes and classroom cheating behavior: A meta-analysis. Sex Roles, 41(9), 657-680. Appendix The Cheating in School Scale Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 1. I feel good when I cheat in an exam. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 2. I prefer good grades to academics. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 3. I am proud of the fact that I have never cheated in my life. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 4. I would not cheat if I were not such a weak performer. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 5. I have been caught cheating. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 6. Cheating is a big deal Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 7. Teachers do not care whether I cheat or not. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 8. I have cheated because of pressure from my friends. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 9. I cheat because everyone else is doing it. Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 10. Cheaters should be severely punished. Read More