Academic cheating in Ethiopian secondary schools: prevalence, perceived severity, and justifications

The purpose of this study was to examine Ethiopian secondary school students’ level of engagement, justification, and perceived severity of academic cheating behaviors. A mixed research approach was employed. In the study, 1246 students randomly selected from public and private secondary schools participated. Data were collected using questionnaires and semistructured interviews. The findings revealed that the majority of students are actively engaged in most academic cheating behaviors with a prevalence rate of about 80%. It was also found that the majority of students exhibit higher tolerance for most forms of academic cheating behaviors which were evidenced by their lower perceptions of the seriousness of the behaviors. Less probability of being caught and the absence of severe punishment was found to be the major reasons that students gave to justify their engagement in academic cheating. It is suggested that school personnel look at the strength and application of their codes of conduct.