SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

 
vol.35 número1Response to national policy imperatives for nursing education: A Western Cape case study índice de autoresíndice de assuntospesquisa de artigos
Home Pagelista alfabética de periódicos  

Serviços Personalizados

Artigo

Indicadores

Links relacionados

  • Em processo de indexaçãoCitado por Google
  • Em processo de indexaçãoSimilares em Google

Compartilhar


Curationis

versão On-line ISSN 2223-6279
versão impressa ISSN 0379-8577

Curationis vol.35 no.1 Pretoria Jan. 2012

 

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

The status of academic integrity amongst nursing students at a nursing education institution in the Western Cape

 

 

Cecilia J. Theart; Ilze Smit

Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Correspondence

 

 


ABSTRACT

Honesty is regarded as a basic ethical value in all educational programmes, and academic integrity is of undisputed importance in educational environments. The literature reviewed revealed that academic dishonesty is wide-ranging and also encountered in the nursing education environment. This phenomenon is of concern to the nursing fraternity because of the proven positive correlation between unethical academic practices and future unethical professional behaviour. Limited research data regarding academic dishonesty at nursing education institutions in South Africa and this correlation motivated the present study. The purpose was to examine the status of academic integrity amongst nursing students at a nursing education institution in the Western Cape. Formulated objectives guided investigation of several variables which impact upon academic integrity, for example the incidence of and student perceptions around academic dishonesty.
A quantitative, descriptive survey design was used, with a self-reported questionnaire (based on literature review and study objectives) designed to obtain information about academic dishonesty. Provision was also made for qualitative input from the respondents by including three open-ended questions.
It was found that academic dishonesty was a reality at the nursing education institution where this study was done. Cheating associated with plagiarism and assignments was identified as the main problem area. An unacceptably high level of dishonesty in completion of practical records was also an area of concern. The main recommendations are development and implementation of a code of honour and implementation of comprehensive academic integrity policies at the nursing education institution, with practical measures aimed at combating cheating in tests and examinations.


 

 

“Full text available only in PDF format”

 

 

References

Babbie, E., 2007, The practice of social research, 11th edn., Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont.         [ Links ]

Bailey, A.P., 2001, 'Academic misconduct: Responses from deans and nurse educators', Journal of Nursing Education, 40(3), 124-131. PMid:11302540        [ Links ]

Basavanthappa, B.T., 2007. Nursing research, 2nd edn., Jaypee, New Delhi. http://dx.doi.org/10.5005/jp/books/10557        [ Links ]

Blankenship, K.L. & Whitley, B.E., 2000, 'Relation of general deviance to academic dishonesty', Ethics & Behavior 10(1), 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327019EB1001_1        [ Links ]

Brink, H., 2006, Fundamentals of research methodology for health care professionals, 2nd edn., revised by C. van der Walt & G. van Rensburg, Juta, Cape Town.         [ Links ]

Brown, D.L., 2002, 'Spotlight on ... cheating must be okay - everybody does it!', Nurse Educator 27(1), 6-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006223-200201000-00010, PMid:11840063        [ Links ]

Burns, S.R., Davis, SF, Hoshino, J. & Miller, R.L., 1998, 'Academic dishonesty: A delineation of cross-cultural patterns', College Student Journal, 32(4):590-597.         [ Links ]

Daniel, L.G, Adams, B.N. & Smith, N.M., 1994, 'Academic misconduct among nursing students: A multivariate investigation', Journal of Professional Nursing, 10(5), 278-288. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/8755-7223(94)90053-1        [ Links ]

Fontana, J.S., 2009, 'Nursing faculty experiences of students' academic dishonesty', Journal of Nursing Education 48(4), 181-185. http://dx.doiorg/10.3928/01484834-20090401-05, PMid:19441633        [ Links ]

Gaberson, K.B., 1997, 'Academic dishonesty among nursing students', Nursing Forum, 32(3), 14-21, viewed 7 June 2009, from http://www.find.galegroup.com.ez.sun.ac.za/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet-I AC-Documents&type-retrieve&tabID-T002&prodID-ONE&docId-A19996782&source-gale&srcprod-AONE&user GroupName-27uos&version-1.0        [ Links ]

Hall, T.L. & Kuh, G.D., 1998, 'Honor among students: Academic integrity and honor codes at state-assisted universities', NASPA Journal, 36(1), 12-18.         [ Links ]

Harding, T.S., Carpenter, D.D., Finelli, C.J. & Passow, H.J., 2004, 'Does academic dishonesty relate to unethical behavior in professional practice? An exploratory study', Science and Engineering Ethics, 10(2), 311-324. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11948-004-0027-3, PMid:15152857        [ Links ]

Hilbert, G.A., 1985, 'Involvement of nursing students in unethical classroom and clinical behaviours', Journal of Professional Nursing, 1(4), 230-234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S8755-7223(85)80160-5        [ Links ]

Hilbert, G.A., 1987, 'Academic fraud: Prevalence, practices, and reasons', Journal of Professional Nursing, 3(1):39-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S8755-7223(87)80026-1        [ Links ]

Jordan, A.E., 2001, 'College student cheating: The role of motivation, perceived norms, attitudes, and knowledge of institutional policy', Ethics & Behavior, 11(3), 233-247. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327019EB1103_3        [ Links ]

Kenny, D., 2007, Student plagiarism and professional practice, Nurse Education Today, 27(1):14-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j~.nedt.2006.02.004, PMid:16624455        [ Links ]

Lambert, E.G., Hogan, N.L. & Barton, S.M., 2003, 'Collegiate academic dishonesty revisited: What have they done, how often have they done it, who does it, and why did they do it? Electronic Journal of Sociology, 7(4), viewed 8 June 2009, from http://www.sociology.org/content/vol7.4/lambert_etal_html        [ Links ]

Lewenson, S.B., Truglio-Londrigan, M. & Singleton, J., 2005, 'Practice what you teach: A case study of ethical conduct in the academic setting', Journal of Professional Nursing, 21(2), 89-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2005.01.006, PMid:15806506        [ Links ]

Lim, V.K. & See, S.K., 2001, 'Attitudes toward, and intentions to report, academic cheating among students in Singapore', Ethics & Behavior, 11(3):261-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327019EB1103_5        [ Links ]

Logue, R., 2004, 'Plagiarism: The internet makes it easy', Nursing Standard, 18(51):40-43        [ Links ]

McCabe, D.L., 2009. Academic dishonesty in nursing schools: An empirical investigation. Journal of Nursing Education 48(11), 614-623. http://dx.doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20090716-07, PMid:19650608        [ Links ]

McCabe, D.L., Butterfield, K.D. & Trevino, L.K., 2006, 'Academic dishonesty in graduate business programs: Prevalence, causes, and proposed action', Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5(3), 294-305. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMLE.2006.22697018        [ Links ]

McCabe, D.L. & Pavela, G., 2004, 'Ten (updated) principles of academic integrity: How faculty can foster student honesty', Change, 36(3), 10-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00091380409605574        [ Links ]

McCabe, D.L. & Trevino, L.K., 1997, 'Individual and contextual influences on academic dishonesty', Research in Higher Education, 38(3), 379-396. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1024954224675        [ Links ]

Mccabe, D.L., Trevino, L.K. & Butterfield, K.D., 2001, 'Cheating in academic institutions: A decade of research', Ethics & Behavior, 11(3), 219-232. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327019EB1103_2        [ Links ]

Mouton, J. 2001, How to succeed in your master's and doctoral studies: A South African guide and resource book, Van Schaik, Pretoria.         [ Links ]

Newstead, S.E., Franklin-Stokes, A. & Armstead, P., 1996, 'Individual differences in student cheating', Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(2), 229-241. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.88.2.229        [ Links ]

Nonis, S. & Swift, C.O., 2001, 'An examination of the relationship between academic dishonesty and workplace dishonesty: A multi-campus investigation', Journal of Education for Business, 77(2), 69-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832320109599052        [ Links ]

Olasehinde-Williams, F.A.O., Abdullah, I.O.E. & Owolabi, H.O., 2003, 'The relationship between background variables and cheating tendencies among students of a federal university in Nigeria', Nigerian Journal Educational Foundations, 6(1), 68-79.         [ Links ]

Park, C., 2003, 'In other (people's) words: Plagiarism by university students - literature and lessons', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(5), 471-488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602930301677        [ Links ]

Paterson, B., Taylor, L. & Usick, B., 2003, 'The construction of plagiarism in a school of nursing', Learning in Health and Social Care, 2(3), 147-158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1473-6861.2003.00047.x        [ Links ]

Poggenpoel, M. 1998, 'Data analysis in qualitative research', in AS de Vos (ed.), Research at grass roots, pp. 334-353, Van Schaik, Pretoria.         [ Links ]

Schmidt, S.D., 2006, 'Cheating: An ethical concern for nursing educators', Kansas Nurse, 81(1), 1-2.         [ Links ]

Searle, C., 2000, Professional practice: A Southern African nursing perspective, 4th edn., Heinemann, Sandton.         [ Links ]

South African Government, 1978, Nursing Act, No. 78 of 1978, Government Printer, Pretoria.         [ Links ]

Tanner, C.A., 2004, 'Moral decline or pragmatic decision making? Cheating and plagiarism in perspective', Journal of Nursing Education, 43(7), 291-292.         [ Links ]

Turner, S.P. & Beemsterboer, P.L., 2003, 'Enhancing academic integrity: Formulating effective honor codes', Journal of Dental Education, 67(10), 1122-1129. PMid:14587677        [ Links ]

Whitley, B.E., 1998, 'Factors associated with cheating among college students: A review', Research in Higher Education, 39(3), 235-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1018724900565        [ Links ]

 

 

Correspondence:
Cecilia Theart
PO Box 562, Bellville 7535, South Africa
Email: cjtheart@pgwc.gov.za

Received: 28 July 2011
Accepted: 12 Dec. 2011
Published: 20 June 2012

Creative Commons License Todo o conteúdo deste periódico, exceto onde está identificado, está licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons