We Get By With a Little Help From Our Friends: Cheating in Catholic High Schools

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 50
  In Roundtable Session: Tensions and Realities in Catholic Education

Abstract

This paper represents three years of research exploring cheating in Catholic high schools. An extensive data set from a case study school was used to develop initial themes and ground further investigation of survey results from 25 Catholic schools in the Western and Southern United States. What factors might account for the high rate of cheating behaviors in Catholic schools mirroring those documented by public schools? Using the Social Cognitive Theory of Morality in conjunction with Social Bonding Theory, we find that Catholic students are under similar, yet distinct, pressures that are associated with cheating behaviors observed in public schools. Most notably, we find that the strong peer bonding characteristic of Catholic schools may increase the number of cheating incidents.

Authors

• Elizabeth J. Berkes, De La Salle High School

• Heather Alumbaugh, De La Salle High School, Concord

• Lillian Dickson, De La Salle High School