THE CAUSE OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AMONG GRADE 10 STUDENTS OF UPPER VILLAGES CHRISTIAN ACADEMY, INC.

S.Y. 2023–2024

UPPER VILLAGES CHRISTIAN ACADEMY, INC.

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

What is the impact of Academic Dishonesty on Grade 10 Students in terms of:

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents a summary of the literature, which covers local and foreign research and literature on the causes of academic dishonesty among grade 10 students.

Literature

Faculty obligations

In the literature review of Gomba (2023), stated that it was also a problem that students don’t view academic misconduct as a bad practice; they normalize academic dishonesty and stopping it becomes unthinkable and difficult. Academic dishonesty can be intentional or unintentional, leading to a violation or breach of academic integrity. Students are not the only ones who practice academic dishonesty, but also includes all those in academia together with the lecturers and researchers. Studies have focused more on students in high school and tertiary institutions. Freshmen tend to practice more academic dishonesty behaviors than other classes (Lin & Wen, 2017) it was also similar to the study of Warinda (2016) and Muchenje (2013) found that students who are young and fresh out from high school are then one who tend to practice academic dishonesty between older and part-time students.

They tend to practice academic dishonesty because they feel academically challenged, adding to this the benefits of gaining a profitable job opportunity if they graduate, thus the consequences desire and temptation to do academic dishonesty. We all know stopping or reducing academic dishonesty is a challenge some scholars have provided suggestions to try and prevent the said act.

The Chala (2021) was conducted to know the seriousness of academic cheating behaviors among the undergraduate students in an Ethiopian University. Most of the results of this study were rated as “serious”. The study found that although students knew the seriousness of the action they still proceeded to actively engage in the act. ”Today’s undergraduate students are the employees of tomorrow and the ethics they adopt and adhere to shape their behavior in the future.” (Chala, 2021). It also stated in the study that students who rather cheat than learn to pass the course are more likely to be less prepared in the workforce and would probably engage in an act that are unethically similar. Researchers have stated that the high frequency of cheating might be connected to the fewer chances of getting caught and the seriousness or lack of punishment. Academic misconduct was significantly more effectively discouraged by students’ fear of being discovered and disciplined for cheating than by their own feelings about the act.

If students are detected cheating, accused, and given a harsh discipline, there is a greater possibility that the behavior will be prevented, also academic misconduct would be lessened if the students knew that they will be discovered and severely punished.

According to Shijimol (2021), the problem of pupils acting inappropriately in class has been documented since the beginning of the notion that a teacher would grade students’ academic achievement and will keep on until the system is in place (Sharma 1980, as cited in Shijimol 2021). The fact that there is no reduction only leads to encouraging the potential for academic fraud, numerous factors exist and numerous coordinated initiatives have been implemented in order to reduce the frequency of academic dishonesty. Academic institutions, such as universities, are attempting to implement stricter guidelines for academic integrity in an effort to reduce the prevalence of deceit and dishonesty. Around the world, several nations have developed academic integrity, schools and other learning facilities have received directions and guidelines operating within. Academic honesty may be strengthened by adopting honor codes, establishing transparent guidelines for moral behavior, and in systems that facilitate the identification and reporting of academic dishonesty, and applying suitable sanctions that have the potential to act as a preventive measure.

Just introducing an honor code could not be enough, frequent prompts could be helpful in preventing academic dishonesty behaviors (Mark Bing et al., 2012, as cited in Shijimol 2021). Severe disciplinary actions should be taken when the event regarding any form of dishonesty happened. Teachers are the center of attention for students. Therefore, they must be informed about and given instruction on ethical standards, punishments, actions, and protocols.

Distance Learning

As stated by Herdian et al. (2021), academic dishonesty that takes place in higher education is an issue that consistently arises occasionally. Actually, not just in the classroom, but students can also make academic deceitful tactics in virtual education.

According to Aguilar (2021), online learning creates more academic dishonesty, though, it’s not intended to support the claim that it is more common in this kind of education as opposed to traditional classroom settings. Students have a high level of awareness of electronic learning (Yacob et al. 2012, as cited in Aguilar 2021), and this awareness grew even more when COVID19 had an impact on education. Initiatives that the government and educational institutions must make in tandem (Nafrees et al. 2020). Teachers’ opinions about online learning, which includes using such websites, include the fact that it leads to greater lack of emotion, abstraction, and academic dishonesty when compared to traditional classes, as well as challenges related to using technology (Moralista & Educado, 2020). According to Aguilar’s (2021) study and Magsambol’s (2021) investigation report, students turned to educational services in order to meet their requirements.

However, the story about a Facebook community page called “Online Kopyahan” (Copying) or “Online Tulungan” (Working Together), started by high school pupils with the intention of supporting one another—especially individuals who were having difficulty during the pandemic, gained national attention (Perez, 2021). By disclosing exam answers and written assessments/modules on this particular Facebook public page, wrongdoing was committed. Given the complexity and dynamic nature of academic dishonesty, various strategies might be employed to tackle the problem. One way to minimize academic dishonesty is to develop and implement strict regulations to stop it. However, Chua et al. (2020) showed that, in spite of the platform’s problems, educators have constructive relationships providing virtual lessons for online learning as a quick fix for the conditions in the Philippines during the pandemic. Arsenio et al. (2022), aimed to add to the body of material already available on this pattern by looking at the actual interactions of students who use the online academic commission services. The start of the epidemic presented serious difficulties for the school system. It has shown to be difficult for professors and students to study online. As stated by Barrot, J. et al. (2021), the students encountered a wide range of barriers to online learning, varying in kind and intensity. The most challenging aspect of their home learning environment was gaining technical knowledge and expertise.

In a study conducted by Beruin (2022), it was cited that in modular setup the concern of parents involvement has made the situation more difficult to observe and resolve academic dishonesty. It was stated by Galang and colleagues, that student handwriting on modules turned into instructors differs from their own, and there is obvious plagiarism occurring when pupils copy answers straight from the answer keys found on the real modules. Similar results regarding parental participation were reported by San Jose (2022), which also mentioned that pupils were more likely to engage in academic dishonesty when their peers were also involved. In the article of Jasper Roe (2022), “20 different artificial intelligence and machines are now available to detect cheating, including those using advanced techniques to maintain integrity such as biometric systems of identification, multi factor, authentication, and blockchain applications.” (Slusky, 2020) Though it is not the only solution to recognize the growing violations in academic integrity and academic dishonesty, modifying summative assessments and using open book examinations are some additional solutions to this problem (Walsh et al., 2021).

In addition to the literature review of Wahab et al. (2022), over time, students have adapted to use various academic dishonesty tactics.

The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting education systems worldwide, changing teaching and assessment practices from traditional face-to-face learning to open and distance learning (ODL). However, ODL is more likely to be used for academic dishonesty as it gives students a greater opportunity to commit to it. The most prevalent forms of academic dishonesty include plagiarism, sharing an answer, or working with other students. The use of high-tech devices such as telephones, micro-recorders, iPods, cameras, internet access, and portable scanners is one of the techniques used by students to achieve academic dishonesty.

Furthermore, Holden et al. (2021), says that academic dishonesty, also referred to as “cheating,” encompasses various behaviors that can give one a disproportionate advantage over other students, including using unapproved materials, facilitating others’ cheating, falsifying oneself, and asserting another person’s work as one’s own (Hylton et al., 2016). In general, these actions contradict the University’s established Standards of Conduct (Hylton et al., 2016), which outline required behavior standards (Kitahara and Westfall 2007, as cited in Holden et al. 2021). The term “e-dishonesty” has been used to describe actions that violate academic integrity in an online setting. It brings up new issues that teachers and administrators may not have previously taken into account.

The use of resources without authorization while an online test, contacting fellow learners via the internet to get answers, having someone else finish an online test or the task instead of the student providing the work are just a few examples of numerous new ways to cheat (Jung and Yeom, 2009; Moten et al., 2013; Rogers, 2006; Underwood and Szabo, 2003). The primary issues are student cooperation and using prohibited materials during the test (Christe, 2003, as cited in Holden et al. 2021). Both the teachers and students see that online exams increase the opportunity for the students to cheat than in traditional classrooms (Kennedy et al., 2000; Rogers, 2006; Stuber-McEwen et al., 2005, Smith, 2005; Mecum, 2006). The primary issues are student cooperation and using prohibited materials during the test (Christe, 2003, as cited in Holden et al. 2021).

Academic Cheating

In this review of literature, the substantial scope of this problem is delineated by Klocko (2014), who notes that these activities are not only common but also have important ramifications for the nursing profession, potentially jeopardizing the standard of patient care. These behaviors are influenced by a number of factors, including the pressure to perform well, a lack of knowledge about academic dishonesty, and the belief that the odds of being detected are low. The research also highlights a number of obstacles to tackling academic dishonesty, including a lack of uniform standards among universities and faculty resistance to reporting instances. Klocko also note a number of recommended practices that have demonstrated promise in reducing the problem in spite of these obstacles. These include putting honor codes into place, creating educational initiatives to raise public awareness of academic integrity, and establishing precise, uniform standards with clear penalties for violations. To sum up, academic dishonesty in nursing schools is a serious problem that requires broad approaches to tackle its accessibility. Klocko stated that cultivating a culture of integrity and professionalism requires a thorough study of the underlying causes of these behaviors as well as an exploration of workable alternatives.

Nursing education may maintain the highest standards of moral behavior by confronting academic dishonesty head-on and preparing future nurses to provide ethical care.

In the literature of Sorgo et al. (2015), academic dishonesty is not a common practice followed by people everywhere; rather, it poses a threat to the legitimacy of grades and skills acquired in school. The real issue arises when the final grades are necessary to move on to the next academic level. If grades are used to determine admission to a prestigious university, then an intelligent and talented student, a student with a tutor, and a cheater will all appear the same, even though the first is better than the other two. In Slovenian schools, cheating is accepted as a “way of life,” with almost every student occasionally engaging in some sort of cheating. Moreover, it seems that among student, parent, and teacher organizations that work together to “assist” kids in achieving their objectives, a culture of tolerance, if not outright approval, for this kind of behavior has evolved. The question of whether all acts of cheating qualify as such remains unanswered. Cheating usually takes place when completing homework, but on the other hand, even procedures like external examinations are susceptible to fraud. While traditional ways of cheating are currently widely used, the spread of e-cheating (electronic cheating) will be expected.

In a literature review of Jennifer Raid (2023). Among the instances are unapproved cooperation, in which students’ complete tasks in teams of two or more with the understanding of self-directed labor and thought. When a pupil has another account, that is an additional example of cheating. Individuals should focus on and finish their written tasks, assessments, and homework (Davis et al. 2009, as cited in Jennifer Raid 2023). Students who struggle with memorization might also use plagiarism to cheat on in-class exams, work through a nearby test, look up the solutions on a smart device, or have the answers recorded in some way for future use. The most popular way to cheat for higher levels of plagiarism is a part of education at the undergraduate and graduate levels (Lang 2013, as cited in Jennifer Raid 2023). There are numerous types of plagiarism, including recycling, direct copying, fake and illegal paraphrasing, The acts of purloining and ghostwriting entail an individual replicating an external source not using the correct reference (Denisova-Schmidt, 2017). This is not a comprehensive inventory of all the kinds of academic dishonesty, although it does include the most typical instances of it. The most popular and well-known punishment for cheating is for the student to fail the task or the whole course, which could result in a university dismissal. A proactive tactic that discourages is to threaten failure as a possible outcome of dishonesty.

Cheating still happens despite efforts to prevent pupils from turning to dishonest behavior (Davis et al. 2009, as cited in Jennifer Raid 2023). A recent study finds that seat assignments deter cheating throughout in-class activities as well as exams for college (Stoltzfus, 2015). But even though this unpredictability was useful in Prohibiting intentional misconduct does not stop students from quietly peering at a test that is nearby.

Colleges can use anti plagiarism tools to combat technology as it becomes more and more integrated into college courses (Wolverton, 2016). These work well for figuring out they are unable to identify paid custom work, only uncited and copied material. In a similar vein, organizations may conduct sporadic identity checks all semester long to stop phony students from working in online courses instead of the real ones. Nevertheless, although this approach is novel in addressing the growing cheating industry, it is only somewhat successful and extravagant (Wolverton, 2016). In the effort to reduce cheating, a long-term strategy may be more appropriate. Through encouraging scholarly honesty. Cheating is not a recent occurrence. However, it changes due to the ongoing updating of higher learning. In college, academic dishonesty can take many different forms in the learning environment; both educators and pupils must be aware of the harmful consequences.

The factors influencing students’ reason on why cheat range from lack of morality to situational influences and peer pressure. Although there are numerous ways for pupils to cheat, instructors have numerous measures in place to discourage it, which is beneficial, but could do better. Higher education institutions have an obligation to uphold ethics and educational goals; hence, teaching children about morality and comprehending the connection between morality and dishonesty is crucial to avoid such instances in the future.

Furthermore, in a literature review of Pasion et al. (2023), Academic dishonesty has always occurred and has impacted the standard of education in a number of ways, including damaging student learning outcomes and schools’ credibility chances. In summary, this issue has increased the difficulty of providing high-quality education because pupils are grouped according to their academic performance. Throughout the 20th century, academic fraud grew widespread in many educational institutions, because of the emphasis on academic performance, students were forced to aim for good grades. Despite the advances in technology, dishonesty in education remains a basic cause for concerns, adoption of stricter and new policies by educational establishments. It is a problem that educators encounter that hasn’t been fixed yet.

Many pupils invest a great deal of effort and energy attempting to raise their scores while neglecting the significance of the information they are gaining. Families who put children under pressure to attain better marks without realizing the difficulties and amount of work involved encourage pupils to engage in academic dishonesty. Additionally, since groups of peers are thought to be vital to children’ growth processes, they have a big influence on their social and intellectual attitude. Teenagers could be persuaded to make academic dishonesty brought on by pressure from their peers, which makes them think they have to cheat in order to succeed in school to blend in. Academic dishonesty has an impact on culture at large in addition to the individual. Academic dishonesty hinders a community’s capacity to advance by making the worth of an education from a school diminished when students and citizens are incapable of compromising the trustworthy culture that higher education institutions have worked so hard to build.

Studies

Faculty Obligations

“Lack of action by faculty reinforces dishonest behavior in students.” (Roig & Ballew 1994, as cited in Smith, 2024)

This study is conducted by Smith (2024), to explore how faculty members see their roles in addressing academic dishonesty. Researchers have studied students, perceptions, demographics, course enrollment, major, and a variety of other characteristics that relate to the students for them to learn more about cheating, and how and why it happened. Academic Dishonesty is more of a classroom-related issue, but the faculty has a big impact on these classroom issues. Little research has been done on the role of knowing what happened among students in the classroom regarding cheating and academic dishonesty. Faculty response can influence the amount of academic dishonesty that occurs inside the classroom. Students can’t minimize their academic integrity among themselves if they don’t observe faculty and institutions addressing incidents of academic dishonesty. Thus, the faculty prefer to handle incidents one-on-one with their students rather than going through formal institutional processes (Eifert, 2014; McCabe, 1993; Nadelson, 2007).

In another study of Von Jena (2020), they stated that even though the consequences of cheating are not as noticeable these days, the rising number of cheatings would have a damaging effect on the society of humans. The future of our society lies in the hands of those who are still in college getting the education they need, as society seeks competent innovators and strong leaders. But what If your leaders are cheaters? Academic Dishonesty in college has been more widely accepted and practiced, this will include everything from submitting someone else’s work as your own, to physically having someone take your exams for you.

Academic Dishonesty or cheating can take the form of fabricating, plagiarism, sabotage, and deception. But how do students even think of practicing cheating in the first place? In a study, it was shown that personality and academic dishonesty have a connection (Cazan, 2017). It stated that the surroundings of an individual as well as their current morals have a huge part on whether or not a person would engage in academic dishonesty, making it more challenging to know whether a student may or may not engage in cheating in the future. Cazan illustrates that “many recent studies indicate that academic dishonesty is more frequent in higher education, under the form plagiarism, cheating on exams, and copying assignments from other students.”

Cheating influence can be found both inside and outside of campus, and both academics and other people must take responsibility for putting an end to the issue. Concluding that if the rate of cheating rises, a large proportion of graduates will be unprepared for graduate school or the workforce, which will have a disastrous impact on our economy due to an incompetent workforce.

In a study conducted by Sariasih and Tisnawijaya (2018), academic dishonesty has been a great concern for teachers when dealing with the assessment submitted by the student. They are concerned about whether the students really did their assignments or did the act of dishonesty such as cheating or copying other students’ work. We can’t really help to stop friends from letting their other friend copy their assessment as it was a form of bond among friends, but this act of kindness is not far from committing academic misconduct. Abel et al. (2020) suggest that it would be wise for universities to require students to take an academic ethics course in order to educate students about academic dishonesty and the potential consequences. A lot of students are unaware of the other categories of academic dishonesty besides copying and cheating. “Academic dishonesty includes “cheating,” “fraud,” and “plagiarism”, the theft of ideas and other forms of intellectual property—whether they are published or not’’ (Jones 2011, as cited in Sariasih and Tisnawijaya, 2018).

It is the responsibility of lecturers and campus authorities to collaborate in order to reduce instances of academic misconduct that typically occur in the classroom and on take-home assignments, tests, and final projects or theses. Meanwhile, the lecturer’s awareness of the students’ practice of academic misconduct has led them to be more suspicious of everything the students submit for assignment and final projects. Because of this awareness of the students’ unacceptable practice it led teachers to give punishments for them, though it was not the answer to this problem. Lecturers should identify the possible reasons that make students commit such acts and create a prevention that is a much better solution than punishing and giving them threats.

Distance Learning

In the literature of Aguilar (2021), including the study of Baticulon et al. (2020), according to the report, there are five types of obstacles to online learning: technological, personal, family, institutional, and community. Although significant individuals participate in this type of behavior for a variety of reasons, it has been discovered that the excessive workload, the incapacity to study on one’s own, the lack of help from educators, and parents, laziness, peer pressure, and the need to perform well academically are the primary causes of students’ seeking assistance from others to fulfill their obligations, which leads to the conclusion that online learning has not proven successful. As asserted by Nambiar, D. (2020), a lot of students still have trouble connecting to the internet. This complicates the deployment of online learning platforms by raising issues with participation and attendance in virtual activities sessions.

As a result, students typically keep up by using outside resources for assistance and guidance to complete their homework and annual tests. Online assessments are widely used in online learning, which restricts teachers to indirect student monitoring and makes it difficult to regulate and supervise cheating (Arkorful & Abaidoo, 2015). Teachers evaluate pupil progress by assessing what students have learned through quizzes, projects, and term examinations.

Academic Cheating

In a study conducted by Diego (2017), the following section of this essay makes the point that, in this situation, honesty should be more than simply a policy. Academic misconduct or cheating is not a recent occurrence (Taradi et al. 2012, as cited in Diego 2017), but an issue that has long existed in many European nations as well as in the Philippines specifically. This type of behavior is such that it compromises students’ the capacity to understand concepts and reach excellence in both performance and learning competences as included in the Department of Education’s curriculum handbook. The use of unlawful methods, actions, and strategies by students is considered academic dishonesty. Types of fraud throughout their inspection or assessment procedures, typically with the intention of attaining higher academic standing (Manar & Shameem, 2014). Mastery objectives emphasize learning and performance goals, on the other hand, are focused on grades and what can be done to be at the higher level. According to Sarita (2015), anxiety related to education is a blend of anxiety and anxiousness related to school. Pupils experience a lot of anxiety over their educational experience because of parental pressure and schools aiming for top results have increased pupils’ stress levels. Although the pupils are aware that cheating is prohibited, they believe that getting good grades is what matters most.

In order to satisfy their need for fast satisfaction and pass the test, they bet on an understated misdeed. The study also found that the participants’ poor training of the values of honesty and self-respect served as explanation for their cheating. According to the participants, lying and low self-esteem are carried into the workplace and show up as a lack of confidence, dependence on others, and a pleasant personality. Some students disobey the school’s regulations or expectations of behavior. In reality, the research subjects, who attend a government school in Eastern Samar, Philippines, engage in their habit of cheating during exams, which is a clear instance of academic dishonesty (Machica, Jr. et al., 2018). Intelligent pupils view cheating as an advantage when it comes to exams. They cheat so they won’t drop the course or the subject and students who are having trouble managing their time might turn to cheating.

In the article of Clinciu et al. (2021), It is astonishing that there is so little research on academic dishonesty (AD) in Romania today, a nation that only just emerged from the ideology’s iron wall. Even with the frequent scandals in the press about PhD theses that have been plagiarized, about private universities that have become factories of degrees, or about professors from various faculties—some of whom are very honorable, who financially influence exam success, the problem is not even thought to be one of major interest (Marinas, 2014).

According to various research, students in Romania expressed a greater need for additional training to prevent plagiarism, which may be related to the greater amount of alleged fraud in Romania or to the lower individuality ratings that Romanian students received as a feature of the social aspect of power distance (Mahmud et al., 2019). The general indifference of Romanian higher education students toward academic integrity may also be explained by their lower level of independence, Romanian students are refusing to report other students who engage in dishonest academic behavior because they believe that this is not their duty (Andrei et al., 2009, as cited in Clinciu et al. 2021). Another study conducted by Shahghasemi and Shirzadifard (2024), stated that academic dishonesty has become more prevalent in Iran in recent years. The prevalence of plagiarism, academic fraud, and cheating has prompted attempts to restore Iranian academic institutions’ standing abroad. Academic dishonesty has a negative impact on society as well as the academic world, it is important to recognize the different variables that contribute to it. Because of this, most colleges adopt a moderate approach that leans more in the direction of reducing oversight and regulations. Therefore, academic dishonesty or misconduct is spread worldwide, whether it takes the form of plagiarism, ghostwriting, cheating or manipulating data, etc. Academic dishonesty among students has always been a big worry in academics.

Since students are the science’s future, it is essential to properly educate and assess them for scientific advancement is worth maintaining and for this reason, although they remain here, colleges constantly update their codes of behavior for students, especially when it comes to using new communication tools. Rules are now being applied more and more to related disciplines, such as the interactions between teachers and pupils, getting paid for doing educational research, and self-plagiarism.

Synthesis

Cheating is an issue that might be caused by peer pressures, expectations, and poor values. Academic Dishonesty is a huge issue in either traditional classrooms or in digital classrooms. This unethical behavior can be performed everywhere making it hard for the educational institutions to find or come up with an effective prevention. Students still practice academic dishonesty despite being aware of the consequences of this act just for them to simply pass their subjects. However, we should remember that today’s students are the future workers of our society and if they commit academic dishonesty while studying their courses, there’s a huge possibility for them to engage this kind of behavior on their workforce. Academic Dishonesty can be lessened by teaching students about the importance of academic integrity and proposing a new prevention that won’t harm the student’s mental health.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the various methodologies that will be use to collect and analyze the required data for the study. The methodology will address research design, population/sample, instrumentation, procedures, data analysis plan, and ethical considerations.

Research Design

The researchers in this study employ narrative research design to gain a deeper understanding about the population’s emotions, thoughts, and opinions. Researchers employ a narrative research design, to understand the population of grade 10 students and the hidden causes behind their academic dishonesty practices. This research design is focused on retelling detailed stories and experiences of the participants. For this study, researchers collected data by interviewing the participants to know their stories and opinions on the questions given to them. With the help of the research design, researchers gain an opportunity to connect our gathered data on a very human and personal level (Jean Kaluza, 2023). This will help the researchers to collect the necessary amount of data to assess the student’s views.

Moreover, with the help of narrative research design researchers will fully understand what causes the students to commit such unethical acts.

Participants of the Study

The participants of this study will be selected from the Junior High School Department of Upper Villages Christian Academy Inc., Limited among Grade 10 Students who have an overall number of one-hundred and ninety (190) population. A sample size of (20) participants would be selected from the five (5) sections of grade 10: Israel, Jerusalem, Moriah, Macedonia, and Jericho.

The study will use an interview guide questions type of survey and will apply a purposive sampling technique also known as the judgemental sampling technique to choose the participants. Four (4) of the students in each section are going to be picked randomly based on their characteristics or the researchers’ judgement. The four (4) chosen students are then informed of how the researchers are going to conduct the said interview and ask for their consent to record their answers. The twenty (20) chosen participants are believed to be enough to provide sufficient and essential information to answer the questions raised in this study.

Research Instrument

In this study, researchers followed a structured interview questionnaire. Structured interview questionnaires are standardized and follow a fixed format with the questions given in specific order. This means each participant is given the same set of questions in the exact same order and in the exact same way.

Research Procedure

The researchers list down several timely academic problems before coming up with the final topic which is Academic Dishonesty.

The researchers then investigate other relevant literature and studies that can help researchers in developing the project.

Then they proceed to formulate questions for their participants that will be reviewed by the research adviser, which are then approved.

The researchers then conducted the study in Upper Villages Christian Academy Inc. among grade 10 students. Using the purposive sampling technique, researchers pick their participants subjectively.

Researchers use narrative research design to understand the detailed stories of participants.

After the researchers conduct the study they then start to tally the participants and evaluate the gathered data.

Researchers then summarize and analyze the overall data before interpreting it.

Then after the interpretation, researchers present the study with their panelists.

Mode of Analysis

Researchers manually created a transcription by listening to the audio recording of the participant’s responses, it was written word by word making sure it was accurate and the same words as what they said in the recording.

After the transcription, researchers then evaluate the written response. Understanding and familiarizing themselves with every data they gathered.

Researchers then proceed to highlight an important concept that would help them make labeling easier.

Then researchers categorized the responses based on their similarities with each other.

After that researchers then recognized repeating answers and gave them an idea of the pattern of the participant’s response.

Next, researchers then verify the credibility of the gathered data to the previous literature and studies.

Lastly, researchers then start gathering all the data. Finally, the researchers are then ready to report.

Data Gathering Procedure

A letter of request for conducting an interview was prepared by the researchers' advisers.

Researchers then create research questionnaires to address their chosen problem.

Their adviser reviews the draft, which is then approved.

The researchers then conduct the study in Upper Villages Christian Academy Inc. Grade 10 students.

The researchers used a purposive sampling technique, in which are the sampling units selected subjectively by the researchers.

The researchers explained to the participants how important their answers would be for the study. Then the researchers gave the participants some time to analyze the questions before starting the said interview, for them to have time to think about their answers.

After the responses of the participants, researchers then collected and tallied the data for interpretation based on their conclusions and recommendations they’ve gathered.

Ethical Consideration

In this study, researchers will first ask for the participants' consent as the researchers need to record their answers for the accuracy of the data. The researchers will not force the participants to actively participate in the interview and have a choice to decline if they want to. The participants private information will be confidential and is surely to be kept hidden for it to not get traced back to them.

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Table 1: Impact of Academic Dishonesty on students.

Themes

Verbatim

Translation

Intellectual

P1: No, kasi if lagi kang nangongopya parang sinabi mo na din na pumasok ka lang sa school for nothing, yung mga nalalaman mo binabalewala mo lang yon mas pinili mo pang mangopya keysa mag trust sa sarili mong knowledge.

P2: Yes, kasi hindi sila matututo.

P4: No, kasi mas maiintindihan mo if ikaw gumawa mismo.

P6: No, kase hindi mo siya matutunan kung hindi ikaw yung gumawa.

P7: No, kase feel ko useless lahat ng pinag-aralan ko kung sa iba ko lang ipapagawa kung wala rin akong alam, ano pa ang silbi ng pag-aaral para sakin?

P1: No, because if you just cheat often in class it would look like you just went to school for nothing, all the learning you got was ignored because you choose to cheat than to trust on your own knowledge.

P2: Yes, because they will not learn.

P4: No, because you’ll understand better if you’re the one who does it.

P6: No, because you can’t learn it if you’re not the one who did it

P7: No, because I feel like all the knowledge I have would be useless if I make others do my work, what is the purpose of me studying?

Intellectual

P11: No, it depends on the students, kase ibang students na hindi kayang matuto sa sarili nila.

P13: No, kasi po kapag nag-cheat ka ibigsabihin wala ka pong natutunan kaya po nagagawa mong mag cheat.

P18: No, kasi po pinapakita mo sa kanila yung mga sagot mo kaya hindi sila natututo.

P11: No, it depends on the students, because some students can’t learn on their own.

P13: No, because if you cheat it just means you didn’t learn anything that’s why you cheated.

18: No, because you show your answers to them, that's why they are not learning.

Behavior and Environment

P3: Yes, kase pwede siyang gayahin ng ibang classmates.

P8: Yes, kasi pwede mo maapektuhan yung ibang students na… na mag-cheat din ang baka mahuli sila kaya nakakaapekto.

P14: Yes, because ang environment natin minsan merong mga taong nag c-cheat, pag madami kasing nag c-cheat parang nap-pressure ka or

napapa-commit ka na lang sa pag c-cheat

P3: Yes, because other students might get influenced.

P8: Yes, because you might affect other students to cheat too, and they might get caught so it affects them.

P14: Yes, because our environment sometimes has many groups of people that cheat, so you felt pressured or tempted to commit cheating too.

Behavior and Environment

P16: Yes, kase mas nae-encourage ako na gawin yon kase nakikita ko sila na ginagawa yon.

P19: No, kasi di maganda yung pag-gaya sa pagkopya.

P20: because I see a lot of my classmates cheating so also I feel tempted to copy.

P16: Yes, because I was encouraged to do it because I can see them doing it.

P19: No, because it’s not good to copy someone who’s cheating.

P20: because I see a lot of my classmates cheating so I also feel tempted to copy.

Mental Health and Self-relationship

P5: Yes, kase po ano … minsan natatakot din ano… kapag kunyari nag failed ka sa isang subject nakakatakot din yung mga sasabihin ng iba or ng sa parents mo.

P9: Yes, kasi po minsan ah… nakokonsensya po ako sa kaklase ko na kinokopyahan.

P10: Yes, kasi para hindi po mapahiya.

P12: Yes, hard pwedeng hindi sila matalino nappressure sila ng parents nila, gustong nasa honor.

P15: Yes, kasi yun nga po, ayokong bumagsak, ayoko maging disappointment.

P5: Yes, because sometimes it's scary, for example you fail one subject, it’s scary what others might say or what your parents might say.

P9: Yes, because sometimes ah… I feel guilty when I copy my classmate.

P10: Yes, to not get humiliated.

P12: Yes, it’s hard, they might not be smart and their parents pressure them because they want them to be an honor student.

P15: Yes, like I said, I don’t want to fail, I don’t want to be a disappointment.

Mental Health and Self-relationship

P17: Yes, yung iba po kasi wala silang tiwala sa sarili nila as I said po yung iba minsan kapag nakita nilang iba yung sagot nung lets say friend nilang matatalino pinapalitan po nila yung sagot nila kasi po I think getting to themselves ‘baka mali yung sakin mas matalino to sakin.’

P17: Yes, others don’t have any trust in themselves, as I said sometimes when they see their smart friends’ answers they immediately change it because I think to myself ‘what if my answer is wrong… they are more smarter than me.’

This table shows the impact of Academic Dishonesty on students’ intellectual, behavioral, and mental health. The themes of this table are intellectual, behavior and environment, and mental health and self-relationship. These themes were formulated when the researchers analyzed the answers of our respondents.

Discussing the contents of every theme, let’s first start with the intellectual. Students engaging in academic dishonesty tend to do the form of plagiarism, getting their answers from their friends or classmates, and letting others do their work and this might affect their intellectual performance of the students. One of the participants stated: “No, because I feel like all the knowledge I have would be useless if I make others do my work, and what is the purpose of my studying?”

Academic dishonesty makes students’ lives easier as they don’t need to study for anything because they have someone to rely on, but this affects their learning process and prevents them from gaining knowledge and understanding of the lessons (Kumar and Dabgotra, 2023).

Additionally, Valdivia, Goycochea, and Davila (2020) study says that academic dishonesty is often associated with students who are lacking in academic ability. Students engaging in academic dishonesty also reflect their academic ability, as stated by the participants: “No, because if you cheat it just means you didn’t learn anything that’s why you cheated.” Students tend to slack off during discussions making it difficult for them to understand or remember the lessons so it leads them to engage in academic dishonesty during an academic evaluation. Although seeing the impact of academic dishonesty on students’ intellectual it can also affect or impact their behavior. Based on a book by Jhangiani and Tarry (2014) that tackles 'The Person and the Social Situation’, says that social psychology is the study of the dynamics between individuals and the people around them. In this book, they tackle how another individual’s behavior, characteristics, and personality traits can affect another individual. It was stated that our behavior is influenced by social situations which are the people with whom we interact every day. Standing by this statement are the answers of the participants in our questions.

Participants specifically said “Yes, because I was encouraged to do it because I can see them doing it.” And “Yes, because our environment sometimes has many groups of people that cheat, so you felt pressured or tempted to commit cheating too.” Judging by their answers, they are fully aware that when you are surrounded by everyone who engaged in academic dishonesty you might also start to do the same act as sometimes students view it as a normal thing since everyone is engaging in it so why couldn't they?

Connecting to this is the impact of academic dishonesty on students’ mental health and self-relationship. Students may experience stress, anxiety, and depression because of the competitive nature of the educational institutions and also the pressure to succeed (Daneil, 2016). The answers of the students, show how they are scared to be a ‘disappointment’ and the fear of getting ‘humiliated’ if they ever get caught cheating and most of the answers revolve around their parents’ opinions about them it was shown by the answer of participant five stated: “Yes, because sometimes its scary, for example, you fail one subject, it’s scary what others might say or what your parents might say.” It was sad that these students were pushed to commit academic dishonesty just because of the words they might hear from their peers. This kind of impact on their mental health can affect their self-relationship.

Based on the answers, students tend to have a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem as they are affected by the negative words they hear when they fail and don’t pass. They also tend to not be confident with their answers as stated by participant number 17 stated: “Yes, others don’t have any trust to themselves, as I said sometimes when they see their smart friends’ answers they immediately change it because I think getting to themselves ‘what if my answer is wrong… they are more smarter than me.’” This statement shows that students doubt their own answers because of lack of confidence with themselves as stated by Jasper Roe (2022) on Honneth’s concept “internalization of norms of performance orientation” it explains that students who lack self-relationship with themselves tend to doubt their own abilities and turn to engage in academic dishonesty to avoid the disrespect that comes with failure.

Table 2: Cause of Academic Dishonesty on Students.

Themes

Verbatim

Translation

Pressure and Lack of Preparation

P1: Yes, siguro kaya nag-cheat din sila kasi nahihirapan din talaga sila, kaya mas humahanap sila ng mas convenient na way, which is cheating.

P2: Yes, kasi natatakot kayo sa sasabihin ng magulan nyo sa inyo.

P3: No, kase kapag nagc-cheat nawawalan po ng saysay ang pag-aaral.

P4: Yes, siguro kasi baka may gusto silang ma-achieve ma ano… pero hindi nila kaya so nag-ccheat na lang sila.

P5: Yes, kase po ano… minsan nahihirapan po intindihin yung isang subject.

P6: Yes, kasi minsan nahihirapan ako intindihin yung mga ano kaya ayun.

P1: Yes, maybe they cheat because they are really struggling, so they find a more convenient way, which is cheating.

P2: Yes, because they are afraid of what their parents would say to them.

P3: No, because when you cheat, studying becomes useless.

P4: Yes, because maybe they have something they want to achieve, but they can’t so they turn to cheating.

P5: Yes, because umm… sometimes they are struggling to understand the subject.

P6: Yes, because sometimes I’m struggling to understand things.

Pressure and Lack of Preparation

P7: Yes, lalo na kapag walang review at hindi ko napaghahandaan.

P8: No, kasi yung di pagsasabi ng totoo ay parang form ng pag ccheat kaya hindi ko ginagawa.

P9: Yes, dahil may mga times na di nakakapag-review o wala sa diniscuss yung lumalabas sa academics.

P10: Yes, minsan po hindi nakakapag-review.

P11: No, para magkaroon ng trouble in terms of academics, hindi magkakaroon ng problema magexplain sa teachers kung ano yung nangyari.

P12: Yes, dahil sa madaming stress, madaming pagsubok na pinagdadaanan, minsan hindi maintindihan ang lesson kaya nag ccheat ako.

P13: Yes, dahil po sa fears kaya po nakakapag-cheat, minsan lalo na kapag hindi po nakapag-review.

P7: Yes, especially when I didn’t review and didn’t prepare.

P8; No, because not telling the truth is a form of cheating so I don’t do it.

P9: Yes, because there’s time when I didn’t review or the things that are discussed are not on the academics.

P10: Yes, sometimes I don't review.

P11: No, to have trouble in terms of academics, there’s no problem explaining things to the teachers about what happened.

P12: Yes, because of stress, hardships, sometimes I can’t understand the lesson, that's why I end up cheating.

P13: Yes, because of fears that’s why I engage in cheating, especially when I didn’t review.

Pressure and Lack of Preparation

P14: Yes, because meron pong times na kung saan nahihirapan po ako na makahanap ng sagot o kaya makaisip po kaya minsan napapatingin na lang ako sa papel ng iba.

P15: Yes, kasi gusto ko makapasa.

P16: Yes, kapag may nahihirapan ako na questions na hindi ko alam nag s-search ako sa mga apps na pwede mag sagot sa tanong na yon and kinokopya ko to.

P17: Yes, minsan talaga yung iba po nakopya na lang kase po takot silang bumagsak, minsan po iniiba nila sagot kasi po yung kaibigannilang matalino yun po yung sagot.

P18: Yes, kase minsan pinanghihinaan na ako ng loob kase nahihirapan ako sa mga task.

P19: No, wala, kasi parang kailangan mo din minsan para makapasa eh… kasi misnan walang review eh.

P14: Yes, because there are times when I was struggling in finding the answers or thinking of the possible answers so sometimes I peek at others' papers.

P15: Yes, because I want to pass.

P16: Yes, when there’s a question that I’m struggling with, I search it up on the apps that can answer that question and I’ll copy it.

P17: Yes, sometimes others cheat because they are afraid to fail, while sometimes they change their answers because their smart friends' answers are different from theirs.

P18: Yes, because sometimes I feel discouraged, because I was struggling on the tasks.

P19: No, because it felt like you needed it to pass eh… because sometimes I didn’t review eh.

Pressure and Lack of Preparation

P20: Yes, because there are times when I don’t review the subjects that I should be studying so I try to commit academic dishonesty.

P20: Yes, because there are times when I don’t review the subjects that I should be studying so I try to commit academic dishonesty.

In Table 2 we will discuss the theme of Pressure and Lack of Preparations. Pressure is a crucial factor that drives students to commit academic dishonesty, it can originate from a variety of sources, including the desire to gain good grades, parental expectations, and societal pressure (Asgher, 2022). In the answers, a participant stated: “Yes, because they are afraid of what their parents would say to them.” To avoid disappointing their parents, students tend to get pressured and aim to gain a good grade even if it means committing academic dishonesty. Students might feel pressured whenever doing an academic evaluation as some didn’t review their lessons or notes before taking the evaluation. As stated by the participants: “Yes, especially when I didn’t review and didn’t prepare.”

During an academic evaluation, it's normal for students to think for an answer but if you didn't review and prepare for the upcoming evaluation, it would be difficult for you as you don’t have anything to remember about to answer the questions then the students would feel pressured as their papers have nothing in it while others are writing down fast, this would lead them to engage in academic dishonesty. Additionally, students resort to cheating for a lot of reasons, including not understanding or knowing the topic, performance pressure, and lastly poor exam preparations (Ariani, Sriyunianti, and Fontanella 2020). As stated by the participants: “Yes, because of stress, hardships, sometimes I can’t understand the lesson that’s why I end up cheating.” This just shows that pressure and lack of preparation can cause students to commit academic dishonesty.

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