How Stressed are Students and What Can We Do About It? Findings from a Self-report Survey of Contract Cheating Behaviours and the Stressful Events College Students Experience

Authors

  • Corrine D. Ferguson Bow Valley College
  • Margaret A. Toye Bow Valley College
  • Sarah Elaine Eaton University of Calgary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/cpai.v6i1.76511

Keywords:

Academic Integrity, Academic Misconduct, Contract Cheating, Stress, College, Canada, Canadian Symposium on Academic Integrity

Abstract

Empirical research on contract cheating in Canada has been limited (Eaton, 2022) and tends to focus on the university (Eaton, 2019; Stoesz & Los, 2019; Thacker, 2022) while there has been relatively little research on academic integrity and contract cheating in community colleges and other non-university higher education institutions (Bretag & Harper, 2020). To address this gap, in 2021, researchers collected data on student engagement in academic integrity violation behaviour and the stress they experienced as they were completing their programs at one Canadian community college. Using self-report survey methodology and utilizing students as partners in research, we found students engaged in a variety of contract cheating behaviours, and experienced a myriad of stressful events both in and outside the college context, including traumatic life events. In this presentation, we explore the link between stress and contract cheating behaviour and address how we can respond at all levels of our institutions to better support students and promote academic integrity.     

Author Biographies

Corrine D. Ferguson, Bow Valley College

Ferguson is an instructor at Bow Valley College in the department of Academic Innovation and Extended Education. She has been teaching at the college since 2013. Corrine teaches Introductory Sociology, Sociology of Family, and Sociology of Aging. Current research focuses on the stress process and academic integrity including plagiarism and contract cheating. She is particularly interested in involving students as partners in research.

Margaret A. Toye, Bow Valley College

Toye is an associate dean at Bow Valley College in the department of Academic Innovation and Extended Education, and at the time of writing this report is a steering committee member of the Alberta Council on Academic Integrity. She has engaged in research projects at Bow Valley College regarding contract cheating, predictors of Practical Nurse graduates’ success and failure in the licensing exam, and on language supports for nursing students.

Sarah Elaine Eaton, University of Calgary

Eaton is an associate professor, Werklund School of Education and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning at the University of Calgary. She is a founding member of the Alberta Council of Academic Integrity and Co-Chair of the Contract Cheating Working Group.

References

Bretag, T., & Harper, R. (2020). Contract cheating at colleges and other non-university higher education providers. In T. Bretag (Ed.), A research agenda for academic integrity. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Eaton, S. E., Chibry, N., Toye, M. A., & Rossi, S. (2019). Interinstitutional perspectives on contract cheating: A qualitative narrative exploration from Canada. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 15(9). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-019-0046-0

Eaton, S. E. (2022). Contract cheating in Canada: A comprehensive overview. In S. E. Eaton & J. Christensen Hughes (Eds.), Academic integrity in Canada: An enduring and essential challenge (pp. 165-187). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83255-1

Stoesz, B. M., & Los, R. (2019). Evaluation of a tutorial designed to promote academic integrity. Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity, 2(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.11575/cpai.v2i1.61826

Thacker, E. J. (2022). Collaboration and collusion between ghostwriters and students. In S. E. Eaton, G. Curtis, B. M. Stoesz, K. Rundle, J. Clare, & J. Seeland (Eds.), Contract cheating in higher education: Global perspectives on theory, practice, and policy. Palgrave Macmillan.

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Published

2023-07-31

How to Cite

Ferguson, C. D., Toye, M. A., & Eaton, S. E. (2023). How Stressed are Students and What Can We Do About It? Findings from a Self-report Survey of Contract Cheating Behaviours and the Stressful Events College Students Experience . Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.11575/cpai.v6i1.76511

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2023)

Section

Canadian Symposium on Academic Integrity

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