Abstract
This explanatory case study attempts to investigate tertiary teachers’ and students’ perceptions of academic integrity in the EAP (English for Academic Purposes) context in a private higher education (HE) institution in Hong Kong. The starting assumption of this project is that the prevalent use of the Internet in teaching and learning as well as massification and privatisation of HE have created new challenges as to how academic integrity is defined, and how identified infringements are addressed. Despite the heightened interest in academic integrity and the prevalence of EAP training in Hong Kong, there is little research investigating teachers’ and students’ perceptions of academic integrity in the EAP context specifically. In view of the above research gap, the study aims to examine the said stakeholders’ views on academic integrity and to explore penalties for non-compliance. This is achieved by adopting a two-phase explanatory mixed methods design incorporating quantitative surveys and qualitative focus group interviews in a self-financing institution.The results of the study point to noteworthy differences in teachers’ and students’ views regarding their perceived reasons for academic misconduct attributable to factors such as gender, education backgrounds, academic disciplines, and socio-cultural influences. The case study also affirms that the Internet may be both a tool for learning citation styles and a channel for approaching ghostwriters. This study shows knowledge gaps in teachers’ and students’ understanding of academic integrity and penalties for academic misconduct. It also highlights the strong need for practitioners to enhance their understanding of the impacts of referencing knowledge and learning motivation on students’ ways of thinking regarding academic integrity to derive pedagogical implications.
| Date of Award | 28 Nov 2019 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Matt A Kedzierski (Supervisor) & Janet L Orchard (Supervisor) |