High School Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Roles in Their Academic Dishonesty

• In Event: Poster Session 17
  In Poster Session: Social Influences on Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore high school students’ beliefs about academic cheating, particularly in terms of the ways their teachers do, or do not, influence their engagement in dishonest behaviors. We conducted in-depth semi-structured individual interviews with 39 students from three diverse high schools, located in separate school districts within the same metropolitan area. The interview protocol included open-ended questions organized into two major sections: general questions about students’ perceptions of cheating in their school, and more specific questions about their own participation in and beliefs about cheating. Students’ perceptions of their teachers’ roles in increasing or decreasing dishonest behaviors reflected three overlapping, multidimensional themes: teachers’ attitudes toward cheating, quality of instruction, and teacher-student relationships.

Authors

• Lynley H. Anderman, The Ohio State University

• Hadley J. Solomon, University of New Hampshire

• Monica J. Kowalski, Ohio State University