UniSA Open Journal System (Univ. of South Australia)
Not a member yet
409 research outputs found
Sort by
Academic integrity on college campuses
No full textA survey of 46 faculty members and 562 undergraduates at a medium-sized Midwestern regional university in May 2011 found that 74% of faculty members believed academic misconduct had recently occurred in their classes; 18% of faculty members have ignored suspected incidents of cheating; and of those faculty members suspecting cheating within their classes, only 18% have reported it to others on campus. Undergraduate students believed all forms of academic misconduct were significantly less serious than faculty members. For undergraduates, 67% admit to academic misconduct in the past year, a percentage that parallels McCabe's (2005) finding that an average of 70% of US undergraduate students admitted to recent academic misconduct. Over 28% of undergraduates admit to having engaged in more serious forms of clearly intentional academic misconduct such as cheating during the past year, and students who have engaged in any academic misconduct are more likely to have engaged in several types of academic misconduct. Those students who admit to having cheated view cheating as being significantly less serious than those who have not cheated. Recommendations for addressing academic integrity issues on campus are offered
Understandings and experiences of wellbeing in a New Zealand senior secondary context
No full textThis article draws upon data generated through interviews with and classroom observations of Year 13 students and their teachers in New Zealand to propose that wellbeing is viewed as a multi-dimensional, complex phenomenon involving seven interrelated domains: Having, Being, Relating, Thinking, Feeling, Functioning, and Striving. Student and teacher commentary indicated that educational experiences reflect an emphasis on developing wellbeing-enhancing Assets including Having resources and support, Being an independent individual, and Relating well with teachers. In addition, Functioning efficiently in assessment-related activities and Striving towards acquisition of credits were considered important aspects of engaging in Actions that will lead to wellbeing in the future. In contrast, cognitive and affective Appraisals, such as Thinking creatively, critically, or meta-cognitively, or Feeling and expressing a wide range of emotions, were considered peripheral to their current educational experiences. Overall, data suggests that while understood in terms that reflected a view of wellbeing as a complex, learning system, wellbeing was experienced in the school context more simplistically. Implications for the development of wellbeing-enhancing educational experiences are discussed
Successful Inclusion of Children with Asperger Syndrome in Primary School: Parental Voices
No full textThe quality of the overall primary school experience for students diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and other learning disabilities may be typically challenging and stressful on a number of fronts, particularly the successful negotiation of the social curriculum. The term 'inclusion' is defined as a process taking into consideration features such as welcoming diversity, promotion of teacher consistency and collaboration, and the provision of learning opportunities and experiences to match the needs of the child. This paper provides parents of children diagnosed with AS a voice to speak about their own experiences and perspectives of how inclusive the primary school system was in meeting their child’s needs. Based on parental experiences working with their child and primary School staff, a number of strategies and recommendations are put forward to empower new parents of children diagnosed with AS and teachers on how to improve the quality of the child’s primary school experiences.
Through the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, 12 parents participated in the “Looking Back to Work Forward†research and their data analysed initially using the Leximancer Version 2.25 (2001) qualitative software. A thematic analysis was undertaken using Bruner’s (1990) concept of generative themes that revealed key topics shared by the participants, including bullying, the importance of community and social supports, and parental involvement with schools. The paper puts forward strategies and recommendations to teachers, education staff and parents on how to improve the process of inclusion for students with AS, and for those students who exhibit similar difficulties at school
The relationship between reading ability and self-perception among African-American postgraduate students
No full textThis study investigated the relationship between two components of reading ability (ie reading comprehension and reading vocabulary) and six dimensions of self-perception (ie perceived scholastic competence, perceived intellectual
ability, perceived creativity, perceived job competence, perceived social acceptance, and perceived global self-worth) as factors impacting academic performance. The sample comprised 101 African-American postgraduate students. A canonical correlation analysis revealed that African-American
postgraduate students with the highest levels of perceived scholastic competence, perceived intellectual ability, perceived creativity, and perceived self-worth tended to have the highest levels of reading comprehension, in particular, and reading vocabulary, to a lesser degree. Implications of the results are discussed
Student wellbeing for those with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities: Same, same but different?
No full textThe nature of student wellbeing, although now subject to some consensus, continues to engender debate. To improve student wellbeing, widely regarded to be an overarching non-academic outcome of schooling, it is generally argued that it must be consensually conceptualised in order to be operationally defined and made measurable. The new Australian Curriculum puts forward common educational curriculum and outcomes for all students – including those outcomes implicitly and explicitly related to student wellbeing, but for students with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities this is, argues the author, philosophically and practically problematic. The author puts forward a research-based conceptualisation of subjective wellbeing for these students and recommends this as a basis for guiding a continuing research agenda to improve their wellbeing
Editorial 8(1)
No full textI am pleased to welcome readers to Volume 8(1) of the International Journal for Educational Integrity.
Academic integrity has been in the headlines in Australia this year, with the national Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) calling for commissioned projects on academic integrity for the first time. The last issue of the IJEI included refereed papers from the 5th Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity (Perth, Australia) and highlighted the work of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) funded project, Australian academic integrity standards: Aligning policy and practice in Australian universities. The preliminary results of that project have resulted in the OLT providing $299,000 for an additional 12 month project entitled, Embedding and extending exemplary academic integrity policy and support frameworks across the higher education sector.
The new project will begin in December 2012, and aims to extend and embed the five core elements of exemplary academic integrity policy identified by the ALTC project– access, approach, responsibility, detail and support – across the Australian higher education sector. Central to these elements is a commitment by providers to fostering a culture of academic integrity. As support is crucial to enact exemplary policy, the OLT project will develop resources accessible to both public and private higher education providers to embed these elements. Two critical areas identified by the ALTC project will be addressed in the new project. First, support systems will be developed for vulnerable student groups including international English as an Additional Language (EAL) students, and educationally "less prepared" students who struggle to understand the concept of academic integrity without assistance. Second, the lessons about exemplary academic integrity policy and support frameworks will be extended to include higher degree by research (HDR) students.
It is apparent that policy makers at the highest levels, and across the various education sectors, are beginning to put academic integrity at the centre of teaching and learning. This, of course, is excellent news for all of us working in this important field.
The current issue of the journal, like every issue published to date, includes commentary, research and recommendations for good practice from around the globe. The issue opens with an invited piece by Eric Duff Wrobbel from Southern Illinois University in the USA, which many of our North American readers may recall was in the news for, of all things, plagiarising the definition of plagiarism in their new plagiarism policy! Wrobbel takes a light-hearted approach to responding to the scandal, and conducts three informal studies which he shares with our readers. Of interest to Australian researchers on the ALTC project who are currently grappling with definitions of academic integrity, Wrobbel conducted a workshop with colleagues to come up with an original definition of plagiarism and found the task to be almost impossible. I think you will find Wrobbel's contribution both engaging and informative.
Steve Williams, Margaret Tanner, Jim Beard and Georgia Hale, all from the University of Arkansas, USA, provide the first refereed paper in this issue. Williams and colleagues conducted a survey of 46 faculty members and 562 undergraduates. They found that 74% of faculty members believed academic misconduct had recently occurred in their classes, and this paralleled the 67% of undergraduates who admitted to academic misconduct in the past year. Not surprisingly, those students who admitted to having cheated viewed cheating as being significantly less serious than those who had not cheated. Williams et al provide some useful recommendations for addressing academic integrity issues on campus which are well supported by other researchers and practitioners working in this area.
Lucia Zivcakova, Eileen Wood, Mark Baetz and Domenica De Pasquale, all from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, also explored university teaching staff perceptions of academic integrity. The authors used an innovative methodology of interviewing staff following their observation of their students engaged in a 45-minute interactive presentation on academic integrity. They then conducted a qualitative analysis of faculty members' perceptions, beliefs and instructional concerns regarding academic integrity in their classrooms. Key findings from the analysis suggest that faculty members perceived themselves to be confident in their own understanding of what constitutes academic integrity; however, there were inconsistencies regarding whether their students had the requisite knowledge to make appropriate decisions. Only half of the faculty found that the presentation content enhanced their own knowledge of academic integrity. Faculty identified several methods they use to safeguard against academic misconduct, and identified the importance of both faculty and the institution providing a consistent and clear model to promote academic integrity in students.
The final two refereed papers in this issue come from the United Kingdom. Neil Wellman and Julian Fallon (Cardiff Metropolitan University) report the preliminary findings of an action research project designed to address academic misconduct amongst postgraduate students in an international MBA programme. A two-pronged approach was implemented, beginning with a zero-tolerance policy requiring that all MBA assignments be submitted to the Turnitin text matching software and penalties resulting from any identified misconduct be widely publicised. The second, crucial element of the approach was a strengthening of the induction and study skills elements of the programme. In keeping with generally agreed best practice, the authors conclude that the dual strategy of prevention and cure was effective, resulting in an overall reduction in the rate of academic misconduct.
Sharon McCulloch from Lancaster University provides the final paper in the issue. McCulloch makes the compelling case that although much of the research into source use by international students has tended to focus on issues of plagiarism, there has recently been recognition that their difficulties may be more pedagogical than moral. McCulloch reports on a small case study involving a group of Japanese postgraduate students. Analysis of five Pre-Master's dissertations written by these students, as well as interviews conducted with the writers, revealed that they varied in their ability to handle source material effectively. In many cases, their use of source material appeared to be symptomatic of weak authorial stance and apparent lack of a clear argument. Based on these findings, the study concludes with the recommendation that instruction on the use of source material focus to a greater extent on its rhetorical function in constructing knowledge.
All the papers in this issue aim to share research findings with the clear intention of improving practice in all levels of the educative process, beginning with undergraduate students and extending to postgraduate scholars and teaching staff. I trust you will enjoy reading these articles and sharing the lessons with your colleagues.
Tracey Bretag, Editor
Tracking plagiarism electronically: First-year students' perceptions of academic dishonesty and reports of cheating behaviour in the basic communication course
No full textThis study explored how electronic submission of course material, intended to deter instances of plagiarism, influenced first-year students' perceptions of academic dishonesty and reports of cheating behaviour in a large, multi-section basic communication course. Results reveal that electronic submission of course material results in first-year students being less likely to self-report engaging in cheating behaviours and heightens their appreciation and awareness of what constitutes academic dishonesty. Implications for classroom pedagogy, course management, and teacher training are discussed
BOOK REVIEW: Re-Positioning University Governance and Academic Work (Editors: Jill Blackmore, Marie Brennan and Lew Zipin)
No full textStreamlining plagiarism detection: The role of electronic assessment management
No full textThis paper considers the problem of managing the workload implications of plagiarism detection as part of the larger issue of assessment management and within a holistic approach to educational integrity. It looks specifically at the potential for Electronic Assessment Management (EAM) to provide some of the solutions to this problem. It draws on the work of Mantz Yorke whose research into assessment management calls for the establishment of appropriate structures and mechanisms which support systems that achieve the dual imperatives of efficiency and effectiveness. This paper considers the workload issues related to plagiarism detection under these dual imperatives, looking first at the issue of effectiveness and then turning to consider the issue of efficiency. Finally, it argues for why and how these issues should be taken into account in the procurement of digital plagiarism detection software and how the use of these tools should fit within a rigorous and consistent holistic approach to educational integrity
Investigating academic malpractice within an MBA Marketing module
No full textThis paper reports on progress and findings to date on an ongoing action research project designed to address the problem of academic malpractice, notably collusion, amongst postgraduate students on an international MBA programme. Its roots lie in 2008 when it was found that case study assignments had largely designed-out plagia-rism but that collusion had taken its place with the result that 132 cases were taken to the University?s Unfair Practices Committee. Understanding the problem was ap-proached in several ways, including reference to existing literature, which highlighted the importance of students? previous cultural and educational experiences, and quali-tative research drawing on students? views and feelings. As a result, a two-pronged strategy was adopted, one element being a zero-tolerance policy with all MBA assign-ments submitted to the Turnitin text matching software and wide broadcasting of the dangers and penalties resulting from malpractice. These were coupled with strength-ening the induction and Study Skills elements of the programme in order to develop students? independent study skills and understanding and ability to comply with UK academic conventions. We conclude that the dual strategy of prevention and cure was effective, resulting in the overall rate of academic malpractice falling from a high of 34.8%, and of collusion of 26.6%, to single figures with both being maintained with subsequent cohorts. The ongoing question of how best to adapt teaching practices to suit the background and expectations of international students remains unresolved. Therefore, further research is being conducted with selected preliminary findings be-ing presented in this paper