Conference proceeding
Motivations to contract cheat in higher education: A Pre-COVID Pre-ChatGPT pilot study
Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2024), pp.168-176
35th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2024), 35th (Christchurch, New Zealand, 08/12/2024–11/12/2024)
12/2024
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Abstract
CONTEXT: The term “contract cheating” describes the form of academic dishonesty where students get academic work completed on their behalf, which is submitted for academic credit as if they had created it themselves. Normally it is presented as an entirely original piece of work, and is unlikely that it will be detected using standard anti-plagiarism text matching software. This is also present in students using generative AI software to complete their assessments.
PURPOSE OR GOAL: The aim of this pilot study is to understand why student “cheat” by outsourcing their assignments and exams. We also posed several hypotheses to be tested. We wanted to know if the value of higher education has changed from a transformative to a transactional perception. Additionally, we asked if student “fear” is the most dominating factor leading to transactional perception of
higher education driven by self, parental, cultural, societal expectations, and whether the ease of access and low cost has increased its appeal.
APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS: A qualitative exploratory approach is adopted to allow flexibility to tap the expected richness of
data. The method of data collection is via one-to-one semi-structured interviews supported by a structured questionnaire. Interviews of about 10-15 minutes of 80 students has been chosen as the central instrument, with 58 valid responses. The data was collected during August 2018.
ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES: We found within the cohort that the main drivers for motivation to cheat are poor time management and low self-efficacy, however we noted that fear (of failure) is not a direct motivator for cheating, and that students generally value higher education in both transformative and transactional ways. We found slight influence from cultural background and financial dependency
in the international cohort and/or those who grew up outside of Australia. We did not find ease of access and low cost has increased the appeal of contract cheating. There was a small cohort who may consider engaging in contract cheating services despite knowing that it is unacceptable and in breach of university policy.
CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY: Addressing contract cheating requires a multifaceted approach. Educational interventions, such as promoting academic integrity through coursework and workshops, have shown some efficacy in reducing contract cheating incidents. Creating a culture of academic honesty and emphasizing the value of learning over grades can also influence student behaviour.
Details
- Title
- Motivations to contract cheat in higher education: A Pre-COVID Pre-ChatGPT pilot study
- Creators
- Steven Goh (Corresponding Author) - University of Southern QueenslandZach Quince (Author) - University of Southern QueenslandAndrew Wandel (Author) - University of Southern QueenslandJoanna Turner (Author) - University of Southern QueenslandSang-Soon Park (Author) - University of Southern Queensland
- Contributors
- Enda Crossin (Author)Matt Pour (Author)
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2024), pp.168-176
- Conference
- 35th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2024), 35th (Christchurch, New Zealand, 08/12/2024–11/12/2024)
- Publisher
- Engineers Australia; Christchurch, New Zealand
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- The research team is grateful for the seed grant provided by the University of Southern Queensland that funded this research into an emerging and present issue in Academic Integrity.
- Identifiers
- 991013285848502368
- Copyright
- © Steven Goh, Andrew Wandel, Joanna Turner, Sang-Soon Park, and Zach Quince, 2024
- Academic Unit
- Centre for Teaching and Learning; Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding