Abstract
Students display resistance in the classroom in numerous ways, often in the form of academic misconduct. Some argue that resistance can reflect cleverness and creativity, rather than apathy. This investigation aimed to develop a psychometric tool to examine classroom resistance as well as identify individual and situational determinants of the same. Data from 853 participants (Mage = 19.36 years, SD = 1.93) was collected on measures of resistance behaviors in educational contexts and their environmental contributors, creativity, personality, and deception. Further, participants indicated their frequency of resistance across two time periods: kindergarten through middle school, and high school through college. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified a robust three-factor structure for the Classroom Resistance Scale, comprising Test-Oriented Cheating, Blatant Academic Dishonesty, and Unethical Shortcuts. The person-situation analysis indicated that students who engaged in resistance shared some consistent characteristics: they were more likely to be closed to new experiences, unimaginative, more extraverted, and highly influenced by their peers. Moreover, the frequency of classroom resistance increased in higher grades as compared to lower ones. Implications of spillover effects of academic dishonesty into the workplace are discussed, in addition to suggestions for future research.
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Hansika Kapoor, Research Author, Department of Psychology, Monk Prayogshala and Affiliate, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut (ORCID: 0000-0002-0805-7752); James C. Kaufman, Professor, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut (ORCID: 0000-0003-0595-2820).
This work was completed when the first author was a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Connecticut. The authors declare that there are no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Appendix A: Classroom Resistance Scale Items
Appendix A: Classroom Resistance Scale Items
Below there is a list of 25 different actions that some students may do to avoid work in class. For each of these actions, please indicate the frequency that you have engaged in them across two time periods: Kindergarten through Middle School and High School through College.
For the frequencies, please use the following scale:
1 = Never
2 = Very Rarely
3 = Rarely
4 = Occasionally
5 = Frequently
6 = Very Frequently
S No | Act | Time period | |
|---|---|---|---|
Kindergarten through middle school | High school through college | ||
1 | Working together in a group on a homework assignment that was assigned as individual work | ||
2 | Asking another student for the answers to an examination that he/she had previously taken and you are about to take | ||
3 | Making up sources, listing unread sources, and/or listing articles not relevant in a bibliography | ||
4 | Reading a condensed version (i.e., Cliff’s notes) of a novel or other reading and/or watching a movie based on the book rather than reading the assigned full-length version | ||
5 | Copying from another student during a quiz or test | ||
6 | Copying from a “cheat sheet” during a quiz or test. | ||
7 | Having another student write a paper or homework assignment that you then turn in as your own original work | ||
8 | Altering the results of a lab/science experiment or project that you conducted but did not get desired or correct results | ||
9 | Copied directly large sections of published work (including online) to use in an assignment without giving credit to the author or source | ||
10 | Copied a few phrases/sentences from work (including online) to use in an assignment without giving credit to the author or source | ||
11 | Handing in a paper either entirely copied or purchased online as your own original work | ||
12 | Marking two answers on a hand scored test so that the choice is unclear, hoping that the teacher will assume a correct response was intended | ||
13 | Changing a response after a paper/test/quiz was graded, and then reporting that there had been a grading error | ||
14 | Written fictitious accounts of observation, life experiences, etc., without actually completing the observations or experiences for what was supposed to be a non-fiction assignment | ||
15 | Allowed another student to copy from your paper during an exam | ||
16 | Stored answers to a test using a cell phone or other electronic device to use on an in-class test | ||
17 | Text messaged answers to a test back and forth with classmates | ||
18 | Written a paper or assignment for another student | ||
19 | Related false personal information (e.g., illness, death in the family) to a professor to delay completing course requirements | ||
20 | Using your notes or book for a test that is not meant to be open book | ||
21 | Conveying or receiving test answers to classmates based on prearranged signals | ||
22 | Using an unauthorized copy of an earlier test to study or memorize answers | ||
23 | Bringing pre-written responses to use for a timed test | ||
24 | Using your iPhone or any other device in an unapproved way on a test (such as looking up information online or using it as a calculator) | ||
25 | Writing information for a test or your body or other object | ||
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Kapoor, H., Kaufman, J.C. Are Cheaters Common or Creative?: Person-Situation Interactions of Resistance in Learning Contexts. J Acad Ethics 19, 157–174 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-020-09379-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-020-09379-w