Instilling the need for academic honesty into Hong Kong university students: How well are we doing?

Instilling the need for academic honesty into Hong Kong university students: How well are we doing?

• Wu, Joseph City University of Hong Kong
• Chui, Wing Hong The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Yau, Anthony City University of Hong Kong
• Hue, Ming Tak The Education University of Hong Kong

Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 2022

Routledge

2022

• B Human Behaviour
  • BE Behavioural Problems, Unruly & Criminal Behaviours, Juvenile Delinquency, Children & Youth at Risk, Triad Society

Academic Honesty Academic Dishonesty Plagiarism Plagiarism Detection Software Teaching and Learning

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Post-Secondary Education

All public-funded Hong Kong universities have explicit practices to promote integrity and prevent students’ academic dishonesty. Using the Behaviour Change Wheel as a conceptual framework, three common practices were analysed in the present study, namely, enforcement of policies to penalize dishonest acts, use of plagiarism detection software, and mandatory attendance at academic honesty workshops. Qualitative data were collected from 50 students (in 14 focus groups) and individual interviews with 18 faculty members from eight publicly-funded universities in Hong Kong. Content analyses reveal that, although the students and faculty staff endorsed punishment as an effective intervention to reduce motivation to cheat, they also believed it would not enhance motivation for honest behaviours. Plagiarism detection software might reduce opportunities to plagiarize, but students with dishonest motivations will only turn to harder-to-trace means to cheat. While demonstrating good concepts of academic honesty, a sign that academic honesty education was working, the students attributed dishonest motivation to insufficient capability to perform academic tasks, which they described as a common problem. Both students and staff opined that the solution lies in more responsive learning support and pedagogical enhancement, but that it is constrained by university policies. Copyright © 2022 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

• English

Journal Articles

• 02188791

• 10.1080/02188791.2022.2038083

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/0a70aa09

2023-09-19