مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Academic Dishonesty: The Views and Experiences of Teacher Candidates

Abstract :

The objective of the study is to determine the opinions and experiences of teacher candidates related with academic dishonesty. Descriptive survey model has been used in present study. The sample of this study consists of 1119 teacher candidates enrolled at Dumlupınar University. The data were collected through the survey developed by researchers and analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques. According to the study results, it was found that more than half of the teacher candidates considered academic dishonesty behaviors as unethical (%59.2) and felt guilty when they behaved in such way (53.5%). Also, teacher candidates indicated that preventive measures should be taken (60.2%). However, the study showed that 95% of the teacher candidates engaged in academic dishonesty behavior for at least one time during their higher education lives, and only 7.1% of the teacher candidates were warned or punished by their instructors. On the other hand, more than half of the teacher candidates stated that the attitudes of instructors and proctors had an impact on academic dishonesty behaviors (55.6%) and academic honesty may be learned (55.6%). The academic dishonesty behaviors of the teacher candidates mostly focused on cheating in exams, and the most frequent ones were informing the students of other classes about the content of an exam after it and letting another student look at one s exam paper. The major reasons for academic dishonesty were indicated as the desire to get high marks, intense exam content, not being able to understand the lesson/subject, need for help, fear of failure and the desire to satisfy family expectations, and knowing that everybody does it.