Cheating: High School
Why Do Student Cheating in School?
Nowadays, schools and colleges can find cheating very easy everywhere. There are many ways to cheat, such as plagiarizing from reports or the internet, giving test questions to a classmate, using crib notes, and copying (Haskvitz, 2006). At the same time, most students may feel that their teachers give them a hard time when they have to take an exam. It seems like teachers want their students to fail. Therefore, many students often cheat when they have an exam and it becomes normal in school. However, everyone knows that cheating is wrong. But, why do students still do it? Cheating is an important problem to understand along with the motivation behind it. There are several reasons why students cheat; such as pressures of achievement, peer culture, lack of attempt, and the moment of opportunity during the exam.
First of all, pressures of achievement are an important thing that causes cheating. Many people want to be successful in their lives, so they usually do a lot to succeed, even if it is wrong. Having a good grade means having a good job or getting into elite schools. Especially for students in top high schools, they often stay in an environment that has high competition. Sometimes, they have no choice because they want to have a high score then they try to start cheating (Simkin & McLeod, 2007). Furthermore, pressures from parents affect children because they are closest with them. Parents often push their children to get into the best colleges, which add more stress. As a result, a lot of students try to avoid angering their parents by cheating on exam. According to Haskvitz (2006) “Many parents rely on grades as the most important indicator of a child’s educational success.” For example, if their children score very good grades, they will be proud of their children and think they are successful in education. Therefore, families give a lot of pressures to children which cause more risk of cheating. Pressures of
Nowadays, schools and colleges can find cheating very easy everywhere. There are many ways to cheat, such as plagiarizing from reports or the internet, giving test questions to a classmate, using crib notes, and copying (Haskvitz, 2006). At the same time, most students may feel that their teachers give them a hard time when they have to take an exam. It seems like teachers want their students to fail. Therefore, many students often cheat when they have an exam and it becomes normal in school. However, everyone knows that cheating is wrong. But, why do students still do it? Cheating is an important problem to understand along with the motivation behind it. There are several reasons why students cheat; such as pressures of achievement, peer culture, lack of attempt, and the moment of opportunity during the exam.
First of all, pressures of achievement are an important thing that causes cheating. Many people want to be successful in their lives, so they usually do a lot to succeed, even if it is wrong. Having a good grade means having a good job or getting into elite schools. Especially for students in top high schools, they often stay in an environment that has high competition. Sometimes, they have no choice because they want to have a high score then they try to start cheating (Simkin & McLeod, 2007). Furthermore, pressures from parents affect children because they are closest with them. Parents often push their children to get into the best colleges, which add more stress. As a result, a lot of students try to avoid angering their parents by cheating on exam. According to Haskvitz (2006) “Many parents rely on grades as the most important indicator of a child’s educational success.” For example, if their children score very good grades, they will be proud of their children and think they are successful in education. Therefore, families give a lot of pressures to children which cause more risk of cheating. Pressures of
References: Lathrop , A., & Foss, K. (2012). Reasons students cheat. Point Loma Nazarene University, Retrieved from http://www.pointloma.edu/experience/academics/centers-institutes/center-teaching-learning/faculty-resources/academic-honesty/reasons-students-cheat Mccabe, D. L., Butterfield, K. D. & Trevino, L. K. (2012). Cheating in college: Why students do it and what educators can do about it. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Pavlik, C. (2008). Hot topics 3. Boston: Heinle Cengage Learning. Rettinger, D. A. & Kramer, Y. (2008). Situational and Personal Causes of Student Cheating. Research in Higher Education, 50, 293-313. Simkin, M. G. & McLeod, A. (2007). Why do college students cheat. Business Ethics Forthcoming. Retrieved from http://www.amcleod.com/mcleod13.pdf