From institutional climate to moral attitudes: examining theoretical models of academic misconduct

Abstract

The study of academic misconduct in higher education spans generations. Reducing the problem among college students remains a top priority among university stakeholders. There are several theoretical explanations for why students cheat, including the institutional climate around academic integrity, motivational achievement goal structures, peer norms, and moral attitudes. These models have rarely been examined in concert to ascertain a more complete picture of the nuances of academic dishonesty. Understanding the interplay between these theoretical explanation(s) would be an important step in developing programming aimed at reducing cheating in higher education. The purpose of this study was toexamine the role of these theoretical explanations in predicting academic cheating as well as a combined model with all constructs. Using a sample of 2,329 undergraduates, we found that all five models were significantly associated with self-reported cheating, but in unique ways depending on the model. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.