Date of Award

January 2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

C. Casey Ozaki

Abstract

Academic dishonesty has been a pervasive problem in universities for decades, however, there has been limited research linking allied health students to specific cheating behaviors. For students studying to enter allied health fields, academic dishonesty is problematic as the health and safety of their clients is at risk. To date, there has been no research focused on the academic integrity of students enrolled in programs leading to a career in speech language pathology. This quantitative study explored the theories of reasoned action, neutralization, and motivation as they relate to academic dishonesty among SLP students. The study combined a slightly modified version of the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) Student Survey, the Learning Orientation – Grade Orientation second edition (LOGO-II) survey, and three open-ended questions. Participants (N = 248) completed an online Qualtrics survey to self-report specific behaviors related to academic dishonesty, the perceived seriousness of the behaviors, and their knowledge of the academic honesty policies in their universities. Data were analyzed using SPSS to determine frequency of specific behaviors and the relationship between variables. The most frequent cheating behavior was unauthorized collaboration. Multiple regressions determined grade orientation, severity of penalty, and disapproval of a close friend all predicted cheating behaviors and accounted for 30% of the variance of cheating behaviors. Qualitative questions indicated students often blame faculty for the need to cheat. Identifying frequency and motivation of cheating behaviors will allow academic programs to find ways to reduce the prevalence of academic dishonesty. Reducing the dependence on grades for admissions and retention in graduate programs may reduce the perceived need to cheat. Improving student – faculty relationships and encouraging a peer mentoring program may also reduce the prevalence of cheating behaviors. At the very least, providing open communication with clear expectations of what constitutes cheating behaviors and why cheating should be avoided will help reduce academic dishonesty and increase professional integrity and therefore benefitting students and their potential clients.

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