Students’ Experiences with Academic Cheating: Perspectives of Grade 10 students, Addis Ababa City Administration

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore students’ experiences with academic cheating from perspectives of grade 10 students within the context of phenomenology research design. To that end, participants of the study shared their experiences on students’ attitudes towards academic cheating, techniques used in cheating, factors forcing students towards cheating and consequences of cheating. Empirical data was gathered via focus group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews from 15 participants purposefully selected among grade 10 students. To analyze the data, initially the researcher used structural coding to organize transcribed data from which he highlighted significant statements, and clustered meanings which developed in to themes. The researcher used the significant statements and themes to write textual and structural description, conclusion and implications of the study. Thus, the finding of this study reveals that academic cheating has been increasing with its sophisticated tactics; school management, teachers, students and parents were identified as factors encouraging or discouraging cheating. Specifically, neither preset rule nor directive to control academic cheating; no orientations for students and teachers on how to reduce cheating; no close collaboration among stakeholders to curb the problem; and teachers’ carelessness were widely raised by participants. Thus, large proportion of students have been tending to engage in cheating rather than studying, or attending the teacher in the classroom attentively, or involving themselves in attempting tasks and trying to solve difficult problems. Therefore, strong collaboration among stakeholders and wide scope future research capable of informing policy on students cheating highly sought to hold back problem.