Cheating in Education: A Rampant Problem with Sociological Roots

Though a rapidly grown trend not only in our higher institutions of learning but also the lower levels, cheating in the course work in any form ranging from the class work to the main examinations is a terrible breach of the rules in most institutions and the education system as a whole.

In an attempt to solve the suicidal issue to the academic lives of the students, many theories dealing with the sociology around the student’s life have been used as we shall examine in the proceeding chapters of our paper.

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Does Cheating Really Occur?

From his book (Haaland, 2006, p. 67) informs us that a recent study conducted by The Rutgers University and The University of Guelph in a sample of 15,000 university students in five provinces admitted to several dishonesty behaviors in the examination which were sampled as: 53% of them admitting to having cheated on a written project, admitting to have cheated in an exam was in 18% of the students and many other testimonies from the students which showed how much the habit is rampant in schools.

The same survey also indicated that 48% of teachers and lecturers admitted to having caught students cheating in exams though they had no tangible evidence to take the issue seriously (Haaland, 2006, p. 98) by punishing the student or reporting the matter to the concerned authorities within the school.

What Methods Do the Students Employ in Cheating?

From our sociology, it is common knowledge that the different structures in the society we live in go a great mileage in determining the shape that our behaviors conform to (Kutscher, 2008, p. 37). It is due to this basic reason that we are going to view the methods our students use to cheat in reference to the major social theories:

The Conflict Theory

As (Kutscher, 2008, p. 73) displays the aspect in the theory, we can deduce that the various units in the society are always involved in innovations as a way of outsmarting each other in the societal ranks. To a great extent, this has resulted to students collaborating with other students with an aim of outdoing a certain group in the classroom. This ends up with the learners liaising with each other to perfume the course work hence the personal assessment is not affected.

Though it heavily leans on the culture and the intellectual phenomenon of the people, postmodernism results in to innovations that seek to improve the life standards of the people. In our current educational world, modernization has come a long way in impacting positively to the system though it is to a large extent creating big loopholes for our students to maximize on for cheating.

The internet as (Kutscher, 2008, p. 57) tells us has created a healthy avenue for the lazy students as with the click of the mouse, they can call an assignment or research done. Superior papers.com just to mention but one of them is a website where the students easily and at very affordable fees purchase already written essay for presentation to the teacher.

Quite a highly technical method that the students use to cheat in the course of their learning in the modern world unlike those methods that were traditionally used. Although traditional, some of the methods are still used by students today like writing answers on body parts and on pieces of cloth or paper as (Kutscher, 2008, p. 98) puts it.

In an attempt to eradicate the wide spread social evil of cheating in students, identification of the contributing factors to the trend is very important as it gives us a leeway to follow. Some of the most striking reasons are inclusive of:

 Conformity Social Stigma

(Kutscher, 2007, p. 121) partially lays the blame of the trend on the fact that the student culture is progressively transmitted to the students either knowingly or otherwise. Students are coiled in to viewing their work as more collaborative and not individual as it used to be in the traditional times. This smoothly leads even innocent students in to the poor practice and it therefore becomes a trend that almost has to be followed.

Class system

Un due pressure on the students in terms of the expectations laid on them in the classroom can also be cited as a contributing factor to the increased rate of students insincerity in the institutions of learning (Kutscher, 2007, p. 71).

The limited nature of time for students to perform their duties may be an explanation to some of the cheating as they are striving to beat the deadlines that are tightly placed. (Kutscher, 2007, p. 83) adds that compromising situations in the classroom may also push the student to cheating like punishment set in the classroom due to failure may force a poor student to cheat as away of running out of the punishment.

Recommendations

From the well-built facts in the pages above, we are able to single out one problem in the whole scenario. Concerned authorities keep on repeating to the students not to cheat yet they do not sit down with them and seriously deliberate on the matter.

By doing this, the teachers can be made aware of more reason why students cheat from the students themselves. On the other hand, the students will also be officially made aware of the harms of cheating not only to their chances in the school but also their intellectual lives.

Work Cited

Haaland, B (2006), Sociology: A Brief Introduction: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Higher        Education, Canada

Kutscher, M (2007), Kids in the Syndrome Mix: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Boston Kutscher, M (2008), Living Without Breaks: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Boston

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