The Effects of Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty may seem innocent in the beginning, but in the long run could cause a lot of problems in one's career. For example, if a student cheats on a test or an assignment, receives a passing grade and is not caught by the teacher the student passes the class. However, the student has not really learned the materials and the materials may have been important building blocks for the next chapter or upcoming assignments. Above all, the information that the student cheated could be important skills that they will need to understand for their future career. If they cheated, then they did not learn the materials as they should have learned it. Therefore, it may appear to be harmless at the present time, however, it could prove to be devastating in the future.
Academic dishonesty also affects the teachers. "In economic terms, cheating causes an underproduction of knowledge, where the professor's job is to produce knowledge. (Bunn, pg. 199) Moreover, a case of cheating often will cause emotional distress to faculty members, many considering it to be a personal slight against them or a violation of their trust. Dealing with academic misconduct is often one of the worst parts of a career in Academic Dishonesty 7 education, one survey claiming that 77% of academics agreed with the statement dealing with a cheating student is one of the most onerous aspects of the job." (Whitley pg. 252). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dishonesty#cite_note-58)
Preventing Academic Dishonesty
Today, many things are being done to prevent academic dishonesty. The punishment for academic dishonesty will depend on the age of the student and the degree to which the cheating occurred. Sometimes, academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade for the class. In other cases,...
Sometimes, teachers could even lose their jobs if it is discovered that students had been plagiarizing in their classes. Many schools will not only punish the students for academic dishonesty, but all parties involved in the incident. No one wins with cheating.
In conclusion, academic dishonesty is one thing that all students should avoid. Not only does it make the student look very bad, it also could cause the student to fail the class or even ruin their future career. No matter if you are copying a few simple words, or creating resources for research not performed, academic dishonesty is dishonest. It is not the answer. All students should think twice before engaging in such risky behavior.
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References
Ann Bushway and William R. Nash, "School Cheating Behavior," Review of Educational Research 47, no. 4 (Autumn 1977), 623
Justin Pope, 'Higher education sees rise in dishonesty', Associated Press, May 19, 2007
William J. Bowers, Student Dishonesty and its Control in Colleges (New York: Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University, 1964), 155.
Donald L. McCabe and Linda Klebe Trevino, "Individual and Contextual Influences on Academic Dishonesty: A Multicampus Investigation," Research in Higher Education 38, no. 2, (1997), 380.
Douglas N. Bunn, Steven B. Caudill, and Daniel M. Gropper, "Crime in the Classroom: An Economic Analysis of Undergraduate Student Cheating Behavior," the Journal of Economic Education 23, no. 3, (Summer 1992), 205.
Bernard E. Whitley, "Factors Associated with Cheating Among College Students: A Review," Research in Higher Education 39, no. 3, (June, 1998), 252. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dishonesty#cite_note-58.RetrievedApril 13, 2008
