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The 21st Century cheater: Academic dishonesty in Canada’s schools

July 7, 2010—Spurred on by new technology cheating in Canadian high schools and post-secondary institutions is growing and evolving, to the point that students and teachers differ over what qualifies as cheating, according to the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL).

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of first-year students across Canada admitted to committing one or more serious acts of academic dishonesty on written work while in high school (including cheating on essays or assignments) and nearly 60% admitted to serious acts of cheating on tests in high school, according to a survey of 20,000 students at 11 post-secondary education institutions.

These findings are summarized in CCL’s new Lessons in Learning article “Liars, fraudsters and cheats: Dealing with the growth of academic dishonesty ”, which provides a look at the current landscape of academic dishonesty—and offers strategies to help curtail it.

“Over the past decade internet and high-tech devices have enabled a virtual explosion of classroom cheating,” says Dr. Paul Cappon, President and CEO of CCL. “As this article reveals, educators, parents and students have to work together in order to properly address what has become a serious and widespread problem.”

A report from one Canadian university shows that instances of cheating and plagiarism in their institution increased by 81% between 2003 and 2006 while reported cases of internet-based plagiarism nearly tripled from 54 to 153 over the same period.

The survey of 20,000 university freshman revealed that students in Canada perceived many acts of academic dishonesty as “not cheating” or “trivial cheating,” while faculty perceived these same acts as moderate or serious cheating. As well, in surveys of post-secondary institutions in the United States and Canada, 41% of faculty admitted to ignoring incidents of suspected academic dishonesty.

“Researchers argue that a failure to act in such instances can lead to higher levels of dishonesty as some students conclude that their dishonest actions will not be punished, and other students conclude they must cheat to remain competitive with students who are already doing so,” the articles states.

CCL recommends a number of strategies to help deal with the rise of academic dishonesty, including online anti-plagiarism programs and academic honour codes. Such codes, which define a code of conduct for students, are most effective when they:

  • develop clear, specific definitions of dishonesty and apply them uniformly;
  • appeal to students' personal integrity;
  • reduce the temptation to cheat;
  • encourage active student participation and critical thinking; and
  • impose reasonable but strict penalties.

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About CCL

The Canadian Council on Learning is an independent, not-for-profit corporation. Its mandate is to provide evidence-based information to Canadians so they can make the best decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years.

For more information:

Margot Maguire
Media Relations
Canadian Council on Learning
613.786.3230 x6252
mmaguire@ccl-cca.ca

 

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 Post-secondary Education in Canada: Meeting our Needs?, the third annual report on post-secondary education (PSE) released today by the Canadian Council on Learning, shows that Canada remains in an enviable position when it comes to international comparisons. L’enseignement postsecondaire au Canada : Les attentes sont‑elles comblées? est le troisième rapport annuel du Conseil canadien sur l’apprentissage (CCA) relatif à l’enseignement postsecondaire.