Cheating in School: What We Know and What We Can Do

by Stephen F. Davis, Patrick F. Drinan, Tricia Bertram Gallant

Overview

Cheating in School is the first book to present the research on cheating in a clear and accessible way and provide practical advice and insights for educators, school administrators, and the average lay person.

• Defines the problems surrounding cheating in schools and proposes solutions that can be applied in all educational settings, from elementary schools to post-secondary institutions
• Addresses pressing questions such as “Why shouldn’t students cheat if it gets them good grades?” and “What are parents, teachers, businesses, and the government doing to unintentionally persuade today’s student to cheat their way through school?”
• Describes short and long term deterrents that educators can use to foster academic integrity and make honesty more profitable than cheating
• Outlines tactics and strategies for educators, administrators, school boards, and parents to advance a new movement of academic integrity instead of dishonesty

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781405178051
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	08/31/2009
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Stephen F. Davis is Professor Emeritus at Emporia State University (Kansas) and Distinguished Guest Professor at Morningside College (Iowa). He and his students have researched cheating on tests for the past 20 years.

Patrick F. Drinan is Professor of Political Science at the University of San Diego and the 2006 recipient of the Donald McCabe Award for a lifetime of achievement in the field of academic integrity.

Tricia Bertram Gallant is the Academic Integrity Coordinator at the University of California, San Diego, and is the current Chair for the Center for Academic Integrity's Advisory Council.

Table of Contents

About the Authors.

Preface.

1 Cheating in Our Schools, Colleges, and Universities: A Critical Problem for the Twenty-First Century.

2 The Nature and Prevalence of Student Cheating.

3 Reasons for Academic Dishonesty: Situation, Disposition, and Changing Times.

4 From Cheat Sheet to Text Messaging: The Evolution of Techniques.

5 Short-Term Deterrents: Strategies for Class, Labs, and Online Testing.

6 Long-Term Deterrents: Development of Individual and Institutional Integrity.

7 The Call for Action and Wisdom: Conversations That Make a Difference.

8 Refining Our Tactics and Strategies.

9 An Optimistic (and Provocative) Conclusion: Finding the Good in Student Cheating.

Notes.

Author index.

Subject index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In a high-stakes society where the ends are often valued more than the means, cheating has permeated all levels of education. This book is a must-have for anyone wishing to understand the causes of cheating and find ways to prevent its occurrence."
–Bryan K. Saville, James Madison University

"Cheating in School provides a compelling call to action.  Rather than simply sensationalizing individual cases of cheating, it provides a broad and balanced perspective and outlines reasonable short and long-term actions we can all take."
–Lauren Scharff, Ph.D,  Director of the Center for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), U. S. Air Force Academy

"This book combines the work of experienced authors who have unique knowledge of different facets of academic integrity and its attendant problems. Working together, they have created a volume that brings together the various stakeholders concerned with academic cheating. They articulate the problem and define it in all its myriad forms, from the student who copies another’s exam to the parent who 'helps' more than she should.
The book prompts the reader to wonder why cheating is not central to the 21st-century education agenda, and how our values become circumvented or distorted in relation to this issue."
–Ken Keith, University of San Diego

"Cheating in school: What we know and what we can do, is perhaps the most comprehensive and accessible text on the topic of academic integrity that I have read.  What makes this book special is the clear intention of the authors to look beyond the individual to the broader institutional and societal milieu within which student cheating occurs, but always with clearly articulated optimism. Stephen Davis, Patrick Drinan and Tricia Bertram Gallant should be congratulated on this carefully and elegantly constructed presentation of the field."
–Tracey Bretag, Editor, International Journal for Educational Integrity, University of South Australia

Editorial Reviews

"The plan includes infusing academic integrity into the fabric of schools, colleges or universities, developing student character and integrity, responding to cheating, reducing temptations and opportunities for cheating, and acknowledging that cheating happens and it is a problem." (Suite101.com, 23 November 2010)

"A comprehensive look at the cheating phenomenon from primary through graduate school." (Faculty Focus, October 2009)

"[The authors] combine their years of interest in and experience with issues of academic integrity to provide an overview of the problem of academic dishonesty at all levels of education.... This is the first attempt to synthesize all levels and several nations in a concise, readable format accessible to the general reader.The authors cite plenty of real-world examples and suggest usable tactics and strategies ... thus making the book useful for educators as well as lay readers.... A great overview of a significant subject, accessibly accomplished." (Library Journal, October 2009)

"I found Cheating in School to be a good read.... I recommend this book to both faculty and administrators who must deal with this issue in their work." (International Higher Education Consulting Blog, October 2009)

"Although much of the specific advice in the book is U.S. focused, the genuine and broad-ranging vision offered by the authors make the lessons applicable internationally." (International Journal for Educational Integrity, June 2009)

From the Publisher