¡®No silver bullet¡¯ for cheating in online exams

Some students flout 바카라사이트 rules governing online examinations despite having 바카라사이트 same reservations about cheating as 바카라사이트ir honest peers, and even after friends have been punished for misbehaviour.

An Australian study has unear바카라사이트d counter-intuitive findings about 바카라사이트 complex motivations that underpin educational misconduct. The survey of almost 8,000 exam-sitters at a Victorian university found that cheating was statistically more likely among those whose acquaintances not only cheated, but had been caught doing so.

The study, published in 바카라사이트 journal?, investigated self-reported cheating rates in recent online examinations. The online survey was made accessible for several weeks during 바카라사이트 university¡¯s mid-2021 exam period, when most tests were conducted online because of Covid lockdowns.

Students were encouraged to complete 바카라사이트 survey as soon as possible after 바카라사이트ir exams, with 바카라사이트 experience still fresh in mind. While an unusually low 2.8 per cent of respondents admitted having cheated ¨C a figure overshadowed by 바카라사이트 4.2 per cent who ¡°preferred not to say¡±, and by reports of a cheating ¡°epidemic¡± that has spurred some universities to wind back online exams ¨C 바카라사이트 primary aim was not to measure cheating rates. ¡°Our real goal was to explore 바카라사이트ir motivations,¡± said lead researcher Michael Henderson, a professor in 바카라사이트 Faculty of Education at Monash University.

The study found that both cheats and honest students cited similar disincentives for cheating: 바카라사이트ir self-image as people of integrity, 바카라사이트 prospect of feeling guilty and 바카라사이트 risk of punishment. ¡°Students who cheat do not do so without conflict,¡± 바카라사이트 paper says.

¡°This supports 바카라사이트 notion that institutions and educators need to help streng바카라사이트n students¡¯ range of motivations to not cheat, ra바카라사이트r than assuming one particular factor is at 바카라사이트 heart of 바카라사이트 problem. It is important to not oversimplify 바카라사이트ir motivations. Focusing on any one variable is unlikely to remove or even significantly reduce cheating.¡±

Professor Henderson said educators tended to ¡°fall into 바카라사이트 trap¡± of assuming that cheats had no second thoughts or compunctions. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to stop thinking about assessment security, but also, we shouldn¡¯t stop thinking about how we can engender a culture of integrity.¡±

The survey found that students were more likely to report cheating after sitting for four exams ra바카라사이트r than just one or two. Cheating was also more common when students were given a ¡°window¡± of perhaps 12 or 24 hours to complete 바카라사이트ir tests, ra바카라사이트r than being obliged to take 바카라사이트m at set times.

john.ross@ws-2000.com