Academic dishonesty among higher education students in Somaliland
Academic dishonesty, such as examination malpractice and cheating, is increasingly recognised as a severe and worldwide menace in education. Although examination cheating negatively affects the quality of education, higher education students cheat during examinations. This research was undertaken to...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125002669 |
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| Summary: | Academic dishonesty, such as examination malpractice and cheating, is increasingly recognised as a severe and worldwide menace in education. Although examination cheating negatively affects the quality of education, higher education students cheat during examinations. This research was undertaken to understand the nature, causes and implications of academic dishonesty, mainly cheating in examinations, among higher education students in Somaliland. This purposeful study was conducted at a private university in Somaliland. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with fourteen students and eight lecturers. Additionally, seven classroom-based observations were held. The study findings reveal that students cheat during examinations due to pressure to score good grades, important grades for their future careers, and lack of confidence due to a language barrier. Additionally, the researchers observed that they engage in the traditional common cheating ways from paper cribs, friends, notes written on body parts, and hidden modern technology-supported mechanisms such as cellular phones and recording devices. Due to the measures against examination cheating, this practice will likely affect students' educational and personal lives. Furthermore, if this practice is left unattended, higher education students in Somaliland will leave universities ill-prepared and with low-quality education. This calls for higher education institutions to understand this practice's nature and root causes and develop intervention strategies. Therefore, this paper outlines some strategies to curb this practice. |
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| ISSN: | 2590-2911 |