A survey of teachers' unethical practices sustaining examination malpractice in South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

This survey study investigated teachers' professional misconduct sustaining examination malpractice. Participants were four hundred post primary and secondary school teachers randomly drawn from all the senatorial districts of three of the South Western part of Nigeria (male= 221 and female= 179). A self constructed questionnaire was used to gather data. The descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were employed to test the three research questions formulated while t- test statistics was utilised to confirm the three null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Findings indicated at 2.5 decision level the respondents agreed that thirty- nine out of the fifty-two items sustained examination malpractice. Inability to give prompt punishment to exam cheats was top on the list of the items at (x = 2.86).This was closely followed by the failure of teachers to properly supervise or monitor examination materials at (x = 2.78) and teachers' behaviour of ignoring examination malpractice acts perpetrated by their favourites at (x = 2.77).The results further showed that there were no significant differences in the perception of : male and female teachers (t = 1.71; df=398, P>0.05); teachers with less than ten years of working experience and teachers with ten and above working years of experience (t = .32; df=398, P>0.05); while there was significant difference in the perception of post primary and post secondary teachers (t = -3.22; df=389, P <0.05). On the premise of these findings the implications on counselling profession was discussed and it was suggested among others that examination monitoring board/ marshal should be established in all the local government of the federation.

IFE PsychologIA Vol. 14(1) 2006: 109-132