Faculties’ Perception and Responses to Academic Dishonesty of Undergraduate Students in Education, Business and Economics

Abstract

Research studies on students’ academic dishonesty are numerous, worldwide and its magnitude has been measured mostly taking students’ self-reported dishonest behaviors. However, little is known in the research literatures about Faculties’ perception and responses to incidences of academic dishonesty. Therefore, the present study was conducted to examine Faculties’ perception and responses to academic dishonesty among students of Addis Ababa University and Jimma University. To this end, a total of 83 full time teachers (74 males and 9 females) from Education, Business and Economics Faculties were selected to fill in questionnaire. Moreover, interview with vice-deans and analysis of relevant documents were made. As per the findings of this study, 89% of teacher respondents reported perceived incidences of students’ academic dishonesty in their respective Faculties with a magnitude ranging between once and more than ten times. Interview data also revealed that academic dishonesty is a serious problem both in Education Faculty and Business and Economics Faculty. The study attributed different factors related to faculty administration, academic staff, and course policies as having contributions for high incidents. The study also highlighted various responses and reasons for ignoring academic dishonesty. To minimize the problems, collaborative efforts among faculty administrators, academic staff, and students using comprehensive Faculty-wide strategies composed of both proactive and reactive techniques were recommended.