Cheating is Unacceptable, but... Teachers’ Perceptions of and Reactions to Students’ Cheating at Schools and Universities / Varanje je neprihvatljivo, ali… Percepcija varanja i reakcije nastavnika na učeničko i studentsko varanje

Abstract

The pervasive problem of academic cheating is an important issue for teachers and other educational stakeholders. Since teachers are one of the most important role models to students, their approach to academic (dis)honesty will likely have a strong influence on them. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify teachers’ perceptions of the frequency and acceptability of different kinds of cheating acts, as well as their perception of the reasons for cheating and their reactions to cheating. Additionally, this study attempted to investigate whether teachers from different levels of education differ in their perceptions of cheating and/or in strategies that they use to deal with this problem. Data was obtained from 400 teachers from Croatian universities, secondary schools and elementary schools using an on-line survey. The results show that teachers from all levels of education perceive cheating as very frequent, but unacceptable behaviour. They recognize the great importance of their role in the prevention of cheating, but their actual reactions are a cause of concern. Teachers’ reactions were usually reduced to warnings and did not lead to any serious consequences. Teachers from different levels of education reacted similarly to all acts of cheating. Key words: academic dishonesty; acceptability of cheating; cheating frequency; elementary, secondary and higher education; reasons for cheating.---SažetakSveprisutan problem varanja u školama i na fakultetima važna je tema za nastavnike i kreatore obrazovne politike. Budući da su nastavnici jedan od najvažnijih uzora svojim učenicima i studentima, njihov pristup akademskom (ne)poštenju zasigurno ima velik utjecaj na akademsko poštenje učenika/studenta. Zbog toga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio ispitati nastavničku percepciju učestalosti i prihvatljivosti različitih oblika varanja, njihovu percepciju razloga varanja i načine na koje reagiraju na pojavu varanja. Prema navedenom su uspoređeni nastavnici zaposleni na različitim razinama obrazovanja, a u svrhu utvrđivanja mogućih razlika među njima u odnosu na taj problem. Podaci su prikupljeni on-line anketom u kojoj je sudjelovalo 400 nastavnika zaposlenih u osnovnim i srednjim školama, i na fakultetima. Rezultati su pokazali da nastavnici svih triju razina obrazovanja percipiraju varanje kao vrlo često, ali neprihvatljivo ponašanje. Prepoznaju važnost vlastite uloge u prevenciji varanja, ali njihove su stvarne reakcije na pojavu varanja razlog za zabrinutost; obično su svedene na upozorenja i nemaju ozbiljne posljedice za učenike i studente. Nastavnici na različitim razinama obrazovanja, neovisno o obliku varanja, uglavnom reagiraju na sličan način. Ključne riječi: akademsko nepoštenje; osnovno, srednje i visoko obrazovanje; prihvatljivost varanja; razlozi varanja; učestalost varanja

Writing with AI: University Students’ Use of ChatGPT

“…That Croatia is a fertile ground for academic dishonesty was confirmed in several studies carried out in the past twenty years. What these studies (e.g., Bilić-Zulle et al, 2005;Dukić, 2022;Kukolja Taradi et al, 2016;Majstorović, 2016;Petrak & Bartolac, 2014;Pupovac et al, 2010;Štambuk et al, 2015) in the Croatian context show is that Croatian university students understand that academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, is wrong, yet many of them do not consider it an important matter, and many of them, between 58% and 97%, engaged in some form of academic dishonesty. The studies also show that Croatian university instructors are aware of the problem yet seem to be rather passive about it.…”

Perceptions of Students and Teachers of the University of Montenegro on Academic Integrity

“…In 2006, a large survey was conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina on a sample of 500 students at four universities, with 55% of the students answering yes to the question of whether they had ever cheated on exams during their studies (Ćurak et al, 2016). Štambuk, Maričić and Hanzec (2015) have carried out research on academic cheating on a sample of teachers in primary and secondary schools and colleges in Croatia. The results reveal that there is no diff erence in per-reveal that there is no difference in perception when it comes to the frequency of cheating in relation to the levels of education, that is, the majority of teachers at all levels encountered this problem sometimes (45.9%) or often (24.2%).…”