Title

Examining if a Character Education Program Would Reduce Cheating and Plagiarism in Higher Education

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Department

Higher Edu and Learning Technology

Date of Award

Fall 2020

Abstract

Many institutions of higher education within the United States and throughout the world encounter one of the largest nemeses they have on their campus—student cheating and plagiarism. Almost all colleges and universities have some type of honor code, but some form of student dishonesty continually occurs. The purpose of this qualitative research focuses on the characteristics, motivations, concerns, and advantages of the implementation of a character education program into higher education. In addition, because higher education institutions primarily use honor codes to curb the amount of academic dishonesty, this study looks at the possibility of the use of a character education program. A survey was used based on Liçkona, Schaps, and Lewis’s (2010) Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education, to probe whether a character education program was needed in higher education. This showed the different responses pertaining to cheating and plagiarism and indicated if a character education program were initiated, would the dishonest work subside.

Advisor

Madeline Justice

Subject Categories

Education | Higher Education

COinS