https://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/issue/feedInternational Journal for Educational Integrity2020-05-11T05:42:01+00:00Tracey BretagTracey.Bretag@unisa.edu.auOpen Journal Systems<p>The International Journal for Educational Integrity provides a platform for educators across all sectors to research issues in the multi-disciplinary field of educational integrity. In addition, IJEI provides an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to take a leadership role in the relatively new field of educational integrity. <br />IJEI is now being published by Springer Open Access at: <a href="https://edintegrity.biomedcentral.com/">https://edintegrity.biomedcentral.com/</a></p>https://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/view/1002Editorial, Volume 10(2)2014-11-08T07:29:32+00:00Tracey Bretagfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auWelcome to the last issue of the <em>International Journal for Educational Integrity</em> for 2014, and the last time the journal will be independently published using the Open Journal System. I am pleased to report that from 1 January 2015, the IJEI will be officially published by Springer. While the journal will remain Open Access, this is a very important step forward for the IJEI, which was established in 2005. In addition to providing very much needed administrative and editorial support, Springer will also provide many advantages, including: 1. Increased journal ranking and status; 2. Longterm sustainability; 3. Increased marketing; and 4. An anticipated improvement in the quality of submissions. I will continue as Executive Editor and hope to entice new members to the Editorial Board from a range of institutions and disciplines. This issue, like so many during the last decade, is an eclectic mix of papers from a variety of countries and disciplinary perspectives, and provides unique viewpoints on the meaning and implementation of educational/academic integrity. Opening the issue, Colin James (University of Newcastle, Australia) and Saadia Mahmud (formerly of University of South Australia) demonstrate that law students are a 'special case' in academic integrity education. Reporting on data from interviews with 12 legal academics who participated in the Australian <em>Academic Integrity Standards Project</em>, James and Mahmud maintain that there are significant and longterm consequences of academic integrity investigations for law students. The authors propose increased clarity and uniformity in the rules of disclosure for graduating law students, as well as an approach which situates academic integrity education as "emergent professional integrity". Minka Rissanen and Erika Lofstrom, both from the University of Helsinki, Finland, extend their thinking from a paper delivered at the <em>3rd World Research Integrity Conference</em> (2013), which explored the ability of students to identify ethical issues in research and the role that the learning environment played in the process. Based on relatively small sample of 87, largely comprised of female students, the authors found no statistically significant relationships between ethical sensitivity, empathy, and the experience of ethical aspects in the learning climate, no difference between psychology and educational science students in terms of their ethical competencies, and no relationship between age and ethical sensitivity. Given the limitations of their own sample, Rissanen and Lofstrom call for more research which investigates the role of learning environments to support and develop students' research ethics. Moving from disciplinary and pedagogic issues to the broader institutional context, Michael Bath, Peter Hovde and former students of Concordia College in Minnesota, USA, hypothesised that the influences unique to a small, church-affiliated liberal arts college would have a discernible impact on cheating attitudes and practices. Their analysis of data from two student surveys in 2008 and 2010 demonstrates that in fact, the "small college culture" of Concordia College was only partially effective in discouraging academic dishonesty, and that the impact of the religion requirement was insignificant. The authors conclude that in light of the finding that cheating behaviours and attitudes at Concordia College are generally similar to larger, more "impersonal" institutions, the College should consider adopting a formal Honor Code, in line with recommendations by Don McCabe and colleagues. Greg Wheeler, from Sapporo Medical University, Japan, takes the debate a step further and examines the broader culture and its impact on students' attitudes to plagiarism. Using data from a survey administered to students at eight Japanese universities (n=483), Wheeler challenges the perceived wisdom that students from South East Asian countries are unaware that copying without appropriate attribution is a breach of academic integrity. He concludes that "Japanese students almost overwhelmingly view plagiarism as wrong and believe in the importance of providing citations to works they have used", with the exception of Medical students who appeared to place less emphasis on the importance of citation than students in other disciplines, including Health Sciences. Furthermore, and in sharp contrast with previous research, Wheeler found that the majority of Japanese students are, in fact, provided with instruction on citation techniques. Wheeler's article makes an important contribution to ongoing discussions about the role of culture in students' understandings of academic conventions, and has the potential to have a direct impact on teaching and learning practises, as well as universities' responses to student plagiarism. The final paper in this issue by Amanda Sladek from the University of Kansas, USA, offers a novel perspective on the meaning of educational integrity. The author interrogates how narratives of for-profit education contribute to public perceptions of institutional integrity, while exploring the complex role that audience plays in the consumption and production of these narratives. Sladek's analysis draws on the case of Dana College, a small non-profit liberal arts college that suspended operations in 2010 after an unsuccessful attempt to transfer ownership to a for-profit entity. Using recent theories in Rhetoric and Composition, Sladek invites the reader "to use the contested and contentious nature of for-profit education as a way to renegotiate what global education will look like in the years to come". On that challenging note, I will end by wishing you all the best for a stimulating read of this last issue to be published by the Open Journal System. I look forward to continuing to contribute to this fascinating field of inquiry in 2015 as Executive Editor of the <em>International Journal for Educational Integrity</em>, published by Springer. <strong>Tracey Bretag, Editor</strong> November 20142014-11-08T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) https://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/view/1003Promoting academic integrity in legal education: 'Unanswered questions' on disclosure2014-11-08T07:29:34+00:00Colin Jamesfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auSaadia Mahmudfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auLaw students are a special case in academic integrity. If a law student breaches academic integrity policy, such as by plagiarism or collusion during their legal education, it may have long-term consequences for their reputation and their future in the legal profession. Graduating law students applying for admission to practise as a lawyer are advised to disclose mere investigations, whether or not they were found to have breached the rules, as failure to disclose may lead to their admission being refused or delayed. This paper analyses the views of 28 academic integrity stakeholders across six Australian universities, interviewed by the Academic Integrity Standards Project, with a specific focus on the 12 interviewees that were associated with legal education in their own institution. While the broader understanding of academic integrity among participants associated with legal education was similar to that of the overall participants interviewed in the study, legal academics raised the issue of disclosure requirements for a breach of academic integrity policy by students, given the significant professional consequences for a law student. Based on our findings, we propose a need for clarity and uniformity in the rules of disclosure as part of the emerging national legal profession. We also propose an approach that promotes academic integrity as an emergent professional integrity among law students, rather than focusing resources on identification and punishing students who breach academic integrity policy.2014-11-08T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) https://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/view/1004Students' research ethics competences and the university as a learning environment2014-11-08T07:29:34+00:00Minka Rissanenfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auErika Löfströmfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auThe study focuses on the ethical sensitivity of university students in light of their research ethics skills and the university as a learning environment. Eighty-seven students in the behavioural sciences (psychology and educational science) responded to a questionnaire that included three vignettes and measures of empathy, socialisation, and experiences of ethical aspects of the learning climate. The vignettes were designed to measure sensitivity to ethical issues in research. The relationship between socialisation into the practices of the profession and the institution and the ability to recognise ethical issues in research suggests that students who have already 'worked out' the norms and values for themselves have committed to these ethics and are willing to apply them in practice.2014-11-08T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) https://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/view/1005Academic integrity and community ties at a small, religious-affiliated liberal arts college2014-11-08T07:29:35+00:00Michael Bathfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auPeter Hovdefreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auErik Georgefreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auKacie Schulzfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auElise Larsonfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auEirik Brunvatnefreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auWhile the increased incidence of academic integrity violations in university classrooms has been well documented over the past several decades, inconsistent attention has been given to small liberal arts colleges in terms of both cheating practices and attitudes towards cheating. This study aims to address this disparity by focusing on academic integrity at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota; a small undergraduate institution with a strong church affiliation. We hypothesise that institutional practices and the small-college culture that are unique to smaller colleges like Concordia act to limit the incidence of academic integrity violations. Our case study makes use of data collected from two student surveys - one conducted in 2008, and a follow-up survey conducted in 2010. Variables representing a range of internal and external factors that contribute to cheating were incorporated into a regression model designed to measure the impact of contextual influences that are potentially unique to students at a small, church-affiliated liberal arts college. Given our findings, we conclude that the college would be wise to consider adopting a traditional honour code system.2014-11-08T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) https://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/view/1006Culture of minimal influence: A study of Japanese university students’ attitudes toward plagiarism2020-05-11T05:28:37+00:00Greg Wheelerfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auThe influence culture may have on East Asian students’ attitudes toward plagiarism has been a topic of much discussion in recent years, with many scholars believing that students from this region do not view plagiarism negatively. They argue that the students have little concept of individual word ownership and consequently feel copying the works of others should not be considered a transgression. Others, however, are wary of this culture argument, and suggest that it is seemingly premised on instances in which East Asian students have plagiarised on their English writing assignments. They submit that rather than culture, the underlying cause of student plagiarism more likely stems from a fear of academic failure due to struggles with a foreign language. Japanese students are often included among those who supposedly do not view plagiarism as morally wrong. In the present study, this theory is explored through examining data from a survey designed to gauge attitudes toward plagiarism and citation administered in 2011 to students at eight Japanese universities. Results indicate that Japanese students almost overwhelmingly view plagiarism as wrong and believe in the importance of providing citations to works they have used, although students from medical backgrounds may possibly be less concerned about the importance of citation than those from other fields. Moreover, contrary to beliefs held by both those who agree and disagree with the culture argument, results show that Japanese students seemingly receive more formal instruction regarding citation techniques than what has been commonly believed.2014-11-08T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) https://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/view/1007Constructing the crisis: Audience perceptions of for-profit education and institutional integrity in the closure of Dana College2020-05-11T05:42:01+00:00Amanda Sladekfreeman.schack@unisa.edu.auFor-profit education is playing an increasingly important role in the educational landscape, with more and more students enrolling in these institutions. However, many within and outside higher education decry the 'corporatisation' of education, fearing that profit motives are beginning to override concerns of institutional and intellectual integrity. This article examines how narratives surrounding for-profit education shape public perception of institutional integrity and how these narratives are co-constructed by their audiences by highlighting as a case study Dana College, a small nonprofit liberal arts college that suspended operations in June 2010 after an unsuccessful attempt to transfer ownership to a for-profit entity. This case study illustrates how failing to account for conflicting, audience-dependent perceptions of educational integrity in an evolving educational landscape can jeopardise the future of higher education.2014-11-08T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c)