ABSTRACT

Increasing incidents of academic dishonesty are a problem for universities globally. The traditional approach to dealing with academic dishonesty has been to detect and punish, which may not be the best solution.

This study explored the perceptions of sessional teaching staff (a growing but often neglected workforce) on academic integrity and misconduct issues at an Australian university. Findings from the focus groups revealed a deep-seated concern for the size and extent of the problem.

While some participants were of the view that students should be punished, others provided interesting suggestions to reduce instances of academic misconduct. This study found that prevention is preferable to punishment as a guiding principle for policy development to address academic misconduct in universities. Students should be educated on the importance of mastering established academic protocols as a way of learning the discipline. Universities need to provide sessional academic staff with contextualised professional development activities.

摘要

越来越多的学术不诚实事件是全球大学面临的一个问题。处理学术不诚实的传统方法是发现和惩罚，这可能不是最好的解决方案。

本研究探讨了在澳大利亚大学的学术诚信和不端行为问题的会话教学人员（一个不断增长但经常被忽视的劳动力）的看法。焦点小组的调查结果表明，人们对问题的规模和程度深表关切。

虽然一些参与者认为学生应该受到惩罚，但其他人提供了有趣的建议，以减少学术不端行为。本研究发现，作为解决大学学术不端行为的政策制定指导原则，预防优于惩罚。应该教育学生掌握既定的学术协议作为学习学科的一种方式的重要性。大学需要为学期学术人员提供情境化的专业发展活动。