Why students cheat and plagiarize?

In viewing the interactive movie “The Lab”, the motive behind students cheating and plagiarizing results in various reasons, in which I concur. Students result to unethical violations for a multitude of reasons; succumb to pressures, cultural differences, lack of understanding material, and unrealistic expectations, but as an educator initiating conversations about cheating, authorship, falsification, plagiarism, and etc. have the possibility to teach students the appropriate ways to cite the work of others, practice ethical research standards, and avoid unethical standards.

The overarching goal as an educator is to educate students enough to prevent students from cheating and/or plagiarizing, encourage reporting unethical behaviors of others, and self-regulating their own behavior and setting high standards for themselves as well as others. I believe the explanation for the continuing increase in academic violations is from students’ ignorance surrounding the topic, the devoid of authentic, meaningful assignments, high academic expectations, and deficient planning.

As a preventive measure, the initial step should be to educate students on the topic, then emplace appropriate consequences for unethical behavior(s). According to McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield (2001) indicate that students who have a negative perception of being caught, leads to a decrease in academic dishonesty. In conclusion, students should have ownership over their own learning, take responsibility for their own behavior(s), and be accountable for the selection of their choices and actions, so we as educators must first provide them with the tools so that they are able to make the appropriate decisions.

Reference: McCabe, D. L., Trevino, L. K., & Butterfield, K. D. (2001). Dishonesty in academic environments. Journal of Higher Education, 72(1), 29-45