Term of Award

Spring 2007

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Education Administration (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

Committee Chair

Walter Polka

Committee Member 1

Cordelia Zinskie

Committee Member 2

Lucindia Chance

Abstract

This research study was conducted with the assistance of Georgia high school teachers for the purpose of examining teachers' perceptions of academic dishonesty during the 2006-2007 school year. Data were gathered to establish teachers' perceptions of academic dishonesty by exploring what behaviors teachers felt to be academically dishonest, how teachers addressed such occurrences, whether teachers felt any internal conflict regarding academic dishonesty, whether any external pressures were involved in instances of academic dishonesty, and how these experiences affected teachers attitudes toward their profession. Results of the study indicated that high school teachers in Georgia consider academic dishonesty to be a prevalent problem. Teachers consider some types of academic dishonesty to be more serious than other types of academic dishonesty. Some teachers reported that academic dishonesty is a moral issue and that parents are responsible for the moral training of their children. Some teachers also reported that administrators play an important role in the success or failure of policies that address academic dishonesty. Some teachers feel comfortable approaching their administrators about issues concerning academic dishonesty, while other teachers do not. The implications of this study are that staff development opportunities could allow teachers to explore honor codes, violations, sanctions, and policy implementation. Teachers could keep tests locked in secure locations, use software passwords, and plagiarism detecting software. Educational opportunities for parents could include being exposed to teacher syllabi, course requirements, sanctions, student handbooks, and information sheets. For administrators, graduate level course work could address academic dishonesty, and administrators could promote honor codes and an academic dishonesty policy.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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