NCJ Number
232484
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 33 Issue: 2 Dated: 2010 Pages: 1-30
Date Published
2010
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study tests whether perceptions of a legitimate university administration are associated with a reduced likelihood of committing different forms of academic misconduct.
Abstract
This study examines how students' perceptions of the legitimacy of university officials affect academic misconduct. By surveying a sample of students in a large Midwestern university, the authors use structural equation modeling to test the effects of legitimacy of the university officials and the legitimacy of the law on six forms of academic misconduct: cheating during an exam, allowing another student to copy from their exam, not reporting incidents of cheating, using notes on a closed exam, not reporting another student for having someone else write their paper, and lying to an instructor to make up a quiz or exam. For all of the misconduct behaviors, the legitimacy of the university was not predictive although an overall perception in the legitimacy of the law was predictive in copying answers and allows another student to cheat. In all six models, students' own beliefs about the morality of the behaviors were predictive. The implications for addressing student misconduct are discussed. Figures, tables, notes, and references (Published Abstract)