Exam cheating among Quebec’s preservice teachers: the influencing factors

Abstract

Abstract This article presents the results of a research that aimed to examine the phenomenon of student cheating on exams in faculties of education in Quebec universities. A total of 573 preservice teachers completed an online survey in 2018. The questionnaire consisted of 28 questions with a Likert scale related to individual and contextual factors associated with the propensity to cheat on exams as well as two yes/no items on the arguments for cheating. Descriptive and hierarchical linear regression analyses highlighted the existence of cheating but also how three factors influenced the students’ propensity to cheat: influence of peers, methods of cheating, and institutional context.

Keywords

• Cheating on exams
• Preservice teachers
• Academic integrity
• Academic misconduct
• Postsecondary education