Attitudes of students and teachers on cheating behaviors: descriptive cross-sectional study at six dental colleges in India. 2013

Sharath Asokan, and J Baby John, and D Janani, and P Jessy, and S Kavya, and Khushbu Sharma
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, KSR Institute of Dental Science and Research, KSR Kalvi Nagar, Thokkavadi, Thiruchengode, Tamil Nadu 637215, India; asokansharath@yahoo.com.

Cheating behavior has been a serious problem in dental institutions across the globe. Attitudes of dental students have an impact on the quality of health care provided to their patients. This descriptive cross-sectional study had the following objectives: to assess and compare the attitudes of dental students and teachers about cheating behaviors, to assess students' opinions of various justifications for their cheating, and to assess teachers' attitudes towards various punishment options for cheating behaviors. The study sample consisted of 1,261 undergraduate students and 131 teachers from six randomly chosen dental colleges in Tamil Nadu State, India. A closed-ended questionnaire was used for respondents to rate the seriousness of cheating behaviors. The students were asked to justify their cheating behavior, and the teachers were asked to assign punishments for the cheating behaviors. The attitudes of students and teachers on the cheating behaviors were analyzed and compared using a Pearson chisquare test, with a confidence interval of 95 percent and significance level of p≤0.05. The attitudes of the teachers and students were statistically different in two cheating behaviors: copying during exams and helping other students copy in exams. The two main justifying reasons students gave for cheating behavior were to pass the exam (59.3 percent) and to obtain a better grade (31.3 percent). Warning and counseling to help the students reassess their moral values were preferred to penalizing punishments by the teachers.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007194 India A country in southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan. The capitol is New Delhi. Republic of India
D008192 Deception The act of deceiving or the fact of being deceived. False Allegations,Lying,Hoax,Allegation, False,Allegations, False,False Allegation
D011678 Punishment The application of an unpleasant stimulus or penalty for the purpose of eliminating or correcting undesirable behavior. Punishments
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D003376 Counseling The giving of advice and assistance to individuals with educational or personal problems.
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005179 Faculty, Dental The teaching staff and members of the administrative staff having academic rank in a dental school. Dental Faculties,Dental Faculty,Faculties, Dental
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001291 Attitude of Health Personnel Attitudes of personnel toward their patients, other professionals, toward the medical care system, etc. Staff Attitude,Attitude, Staff,Attitudes, Staff,Health Personnel Attitude,Health Personnel Attitudes,Staff Attitudes
D012575 Schools, Dental Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of dentistry. Dental Schools,Dental School,School, Dental

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