Academic institutions worldwide have had to adapt their methods of teaching and assessment due to COVID-19. In many Spanish universities exams moved online, affording students with opportunities to breach academic integrity that were not previously available to them. This paper uses the emerging research method of search engine data analysis to investigate the extent of requests for exam cheating information in Spain in the time period surrounding adjustments for the pandemic. The Internet data analytics technique is one that the paper proposes should be used more widely as an academic integrity research method. For this study, search engine activity data on exam cheating in Spain was collected and analysed for the five-year period between 2016 and 2020 inclusive. The data suggests that students are searching for information about ways to cheat in exams, including how to create cheat sheets. Most strikingly, the results show a significant increase in requests for information on cheating on online exams during the COVID-19 timeframe and the Spanish lockdown period. Based on the findings, academic institutions in other regions should be wary about the opportunities that their students have to commit exam fraud.

Este trabajo se centra en el fraude en las evaluaciones por parte del alumnado universitario español y su reglamentación por parte de las universidades como dispositivo para combatirlo. A partir del análisis de la literatura y la consulta a un panel de expertos mediante la administración de un cuestionario en dos rondas se identifican los principales comportamientos fraudulentos en las evaluaciones.  Posteriormente, a partir de las opiniones de los expertos se determina, por una parte, el nivel de gravedad de cada uno de los comportamientos fraudulentos y, por otra, el tipo de sanciones aplicables según su gravedad. El análisis del grado de concordancia de los expertos en torno a estas cuestiones sugiere que, si bien hay algunos elementos que presentan un consenso significativo, continúan habiendo importantes divergencias en algunos criterios fundamentales a la hora de valorar y sancionar los comportamientos fraudulentos del alumnado en las evaluaciones. Los resultados ofrecidos pueden ser de utilidad para la elaboración y desarrollo de políticas educativas contra la deshonestidad académica basadas en dispositivos normativos This paper focuses on the fraud in the evaluations perpetrated by the Spanish university students and its regulation by the universities as a device to combat it. From the analysis of the literature and the consultation of a panel of experts through the administration of a questionnaire in two rounds, the main fraudulent behaviours in the evaluations are identified. Subsequently, based on the opinions of the experts, it is determined, on the one hand, the level of seriousness of each of the fraudulent behaviours and, on the other, the type of sanctions applicable according to their severity. The analysis of the degree of concordance of the experts on these issues suggests that, although there are some elements that present a significant consensus, there continue to be important divergences in some fundamental criteria when assessing and punishing the fraudulent behaviour of students in the evaluations The results offered can be useful for the development and implementation of educational policies against academic dishonesty based on normative devices.

This paper analyzed the relationship that certain demographic and educational variables might have on the training in environmental education (EE) received by undergraduate students enrolled in a Degree in Primary Education (DPE) at two Spanish universities. For this purpose, they were given a questionnaire to assess the link between certain personal and educational characteristics relating to the students in the sample (n = 274) and three components of an environmental competence (EC) model: environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The results indicate that variables like gender, the students’ habitual place of residence, the type of leisure activities they undertook, and some educational factors had a significant impact on the acquisition of the said competencies. In light of these outcomes, the paper reflects on the possible role that non-university contexts might play in environmental education for pre-service teachers.

This article details the results of a descriptive study that analyzes the characteristics and impact of cyberbullying among native and immigrant students enrolled in secondary education. Results indicate that immigrant children experience higher levels than native students of cyberbullying victimisation and they also perpetrate bullying to a greater degree through digital media; there were significant differences in the majority of cases analysed (immigrant students had higher levels of victimisation and perpetration than native students in 27 of 33 cyberbullying incidents studied). In addition, the study found that immigrant students considered being a native of another country to be an explanatory factor in their experiences with cyberbullying. Both groups showed similar frequencies in the explanation given for perpetrating cyberbullying: they bullied in response to being provoked.

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