Development of Examination Behaviour Inventory: An Integrity Measure for Prevention of Cheating in School Exams

Abstract

Cheating in examinations is an educational menace that has threatened the very essence of schooling in most countries of the world. Therefore, it has become imperative for researchers in education to seek alternative strategies for curbing it in order to restore the dignity of school examinations as an instrument for assessing actual educational attainment by students. This research study addresses this challenge by developing an inventory that could be used to measure the examination behaviour of prospective candidates for school certificate examinations. The rationale for developing the instrument is based on providing a tool for identifying students who have positive tendencies towards engaging in cheating behaviour during school examinations. The initial sample used for the validation of the Examination Behaviour Inventory was 2000 candidates enrolled for the 2013 Senior School Certificate Examinations in Nigeria while the standardization of the instrument involved 4000 candidates. Cronbach Alpha index of the instrument is 0.843 and Factor Analysis delineated 12 principal component factors. Other psychometric properties of the inventory and the detailed processes involved in the construction, validation and standardization of this valuable educational instrument is reported. The instrument is recommended to School Counsellors, Psychologists, Teachers, Administrators and other stakeholders in education who are interested in the identification of prospective candidates who have a tendency to engage in cheating during examinations so as to apply proactive reformation on them.