Academic dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is a growing and highly disturbing phenomenon in contemporary American society (Payne & Nantz, 1994, pp. 90-96). The scope of academic dishonesty ranges from plagiarism to the falsification of research results (McCabe & Trevino, 1993, pp. 522-538; Chop & Silva, 1991, pp. 166-171).

This review of the literature relevant to academic dishonesty is in support of a study that will examine the responses of nursing educators to instances of academic misconduct. The initial section of this review deals with the issue at a broad level, while the literature reviewed in the second section focuses on academic dishonesty in nursing.

The Contemporary Phenomenon of Academic Dishonesty

Studies of the phenomenon indicate "that between 50 and 70 percent of freshmen admit to some form of cheating--from looking over shoulders during tests to borrowing other people's work and claiming it as their own" (Goode, 1993, p. 10). Almost all colleges and universities have procedures in place to punish those persons found to be guilty of plagiarism--either student or faculty member. The punitive provisions of these codes of behavior, however, "are rarely enforced, out of fear of litigation by those accused, fear of loss of friendship, or a natural human tendency to sweep unpleasant things under the rug" (p. 10).

Plagiarizing on campus is not limited to students (Goode, pp. 10-15). Stephen Oates, a professor history at the University of Massachu

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, & Smith, p. 279). The recognition and addressing of acts of academic dishonesty in nursing education is an essential objective for nursing education administrators and faculty (Bradshaw & Lowenstein, 1990, pp. 10-15). Making the connection between classroom and practice in relation to academic dishonesty is critical to the nursing profession. Unfortunately, nursing faculty have a tendency to rationalize such behavior by nursing students. Some faculty members also are reluctant to become embroiled in such situations for fear of legal action against themselves. Both nursing school faculty and nursing education administrators, however, must be willing to challenge student accounts of academic misconduct (Payne & Nantz, pp. 90-96). Academic dishonesty is a behavior that can be controlled in nursing; however, the effective addressing of the issue cannot be accomplished in the absence of coordinated and cooperative action by both nursing education administrators and nursing school faculty (Eoyang, 1995, pp. 1-4). Goode (p. 11) contended that the "fact that most campus hearings on plagiarism and fraud--and they are few and far between--are held in deepest and darkest secrecy doesn't help matters. Speculation about what exactly

Category: Psychology - A