Open    Access



No More Excuses - Personality Traits and Academic Dishonesty in Online Courses



Author(s)

Yovav Eshet
Keren Grinautski
Yehuda Peled
Casimir Barczyk


Full-Text PDF XML     636 Views

DOI:10.17265/2328-224X/2014.03.004

The Department of Multi-Disciplinary Studies Zefat Academic College Zefat, Israel
The Department of Multi-Disciplinary Studies The Western Galilee College Akko, Israel
Department of Information Science The Western Galilee College Akko, Israel
School of Management Purdue University, Calumet, USA.

Academic dishonesty is a disturbing issue in higher education that has been worsening over the years, especially with the appearance of the internet and the e-learning education. This new technology exposes students to the opportunity of using online bank exams and term papers and increases their tendency to cheat. This study investigates student academic dishonesty in the context of traditional and distance-learning courses in higher education. Data from 1,365 students enrolled in academic institutes in the U.S.A and Israel were surveyed to assess their personality and their willingness to commit various acts of academic misconduct. The findings indicate that in both countries dishonest behaviors are greater in face-to-face courses than in online courses. In addition, both American and Israeli students identified with the personality trait of Agreeableness showed a negative correlation with academic dishonesty. Furthermore, Israeli students identified with the personality traits of Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability demonstrated a negative correlation with academic dishonesty. In contrast, the personality trait of Extraversion among American students was found in a positive correlation with academic misconduct. Implications for further research are discussed.

Academic Dishonesty, Personality Traits, OCEAN, Online Courses.