An examination of social and cultural factors that may affect engagement in study activities linked to academic writing skills

• Project Team: Sharon XuerebCathy Schofield
• Subject Discipline: Psychology and Counselling
• Theme: AssessmentEmployability/Careers
• Project Aim: Enables more students to achieve their study goalsEnhances employability and career progressionImproves and enhance the learning experience of students
• Status: Complete
• Date: March 2024

It is vital for students to understand and uphold the principles of academic integrity throughout their studies. Although this is often a value that is promoted by higher education institutions from the outset, academic misconduct does appear to be a growing problem. This may be explained by lockdown depriving students of the social support systems that increase their confidence in their writing. As a result, an increased number of students sought assistance from other sources, many of which may be considered in appropriate (Maryon, et al., 2022).

Although there has been an increase in cases of academic misconduct, this does not necessarily mean that students are engaging in this knowingly. Indeed, there may be an argument that many cases are due to naivety; and that unscrupulous methods used by essay mills to make students upload their work, unaware of its end use, putting students in a vulnerable position. This research seeks to examine student’s understanding and confidence in their academic writing and related skills.

Through an online survey we presented a range of learning activities and asked students how likely they were to engage in each type, some of which were more desirable ways of seeking help than others.

 We found that students with academic conduct referrals or those who were first in their family to enrol in higher education lacked confidence in academic writing skills and thought it was acceptable to use others’ word without paraphrasing. Students who were not confident in engaging with the institutional support systems were more likely to reach out to friends or use social media for assistance, potentially receiving incorrect guidance as a result. Those who were not the first in their family to enrol in higher education were more likely to reach out to their tutor for help or engage in support systems, were more confident and had a better understanding about what is deemed as acceptable practice.

The implications are that students need encouragement to seek information form the correct sources in order to build positive academic skills and increase their confidence, leaving them less likely to contravene academic integrity guidelines.

Maryon, T., Dubre, V., Elliott, K., Escareno, J., Fagan, M. H., Standridge, E. & Lieneck, C. (2022). COVID-19 Academic Integrity Violations and Trends: A Rapid Review. Education Sciences, 12(12), 901