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Cheating Behaviors of Dental Students

Dr. Al-Dwairi is Lecturer, Department of Restorative Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology; and Dr. Al-Waheidi is Consultant Orthodontist in Amman, Jordan. Direct correspondence and requests for reprints to Dr. Ziad Nawaf Al-Dwairi, Department of Restorative Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid-Jordan; 0096227201000 phone; 0096227095115 fax; ziadd{at}just.edu.jo.

Key words: dental, ethics, students, cheating

Submitted for publication 06/16/04; accepted 09/04/04

	Abstract

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There has always been some degree of cheating in educational institutions. Many students who have difficulty retaining information, or who are just too lazy to work, turn to cheating as an easy way to obtain high marks. The aims of this study were to investigate undergraduate dental students’ attitudes about the seriousness of thirteen cheating behaviors and to determine the students’ attitudes about justification for cheating. A multiple choice questionnaire was distributed to 200 undergraduate dental students at the Faculty of Dentistry of the Jordan University of Science and Technology in the second through the fifth year of the curriculum in order to rate thirteen cheating behaviors and report their degree of satisfaction with studying dentistry. The response rate was 100 percent. Nine out of the thirteen cheating behaviors were considered as serious by about 85 percent of students. This majority also reported that they enjoyed studying dentistry compared to 10 percent who liked dentistry and 5 percent who disliked dentistry. Those 85 percent reported that they considered themselves to be ethical, while 10 percent selected somewhat ethical and 5 percent selected not ethical. This study revealed the importance of the issue of cheating and how it is evaluated by dental students who may benefit from educational programs as part of their curriculum.

Cheating is not limited to examinations. Cheating can occur on laboratory projects and in the clinic by falsifying patient records. It can occur by forging faculty signatures on prescriptions or by pocketing money from patient treatment.⁵

Undetected cheating is reinforced when the cheater gets rewarded; however, it is unrealistic to assume that rewards for cheating are limited to dental students. For example, faculty who cheat by falsifying research data or engaging in plagiarism are rewarded with promotion and higher salaries if their unethical behavior is not detected.

The aims of this study were to investigate undergraduate dental students’ attitudes about the seriousness of thirteen cheating behaviors and to determine the students’ attitudes about justification for cheating.

	Materials and Methods

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The study was carried out at the Faculty of Dentistry at Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid-Jordan. A multiple choice questionnaire was distributed by the authors to 200 undergraduate dental students who were in the second through the fifth year of the curriculum. The questionnaire contained questions in English, which is the medium of instruction that asked students about their educational experiences in dental school and attitudes toward cheating. The questionnaire asked the students to rate the seriousness of thirteen cheating behaviors as either very serious cheating or not serious cheating. A cheating behavior is considered serious if it is against the moral principles of the dental profession and will result in a penalty that will affect the students’ professional education. The questionnaire was adapted from an article by Warman et al.⁹ and pilot-tested to make sure that the students’ responses were reliable. The students indicated their gender, year of school, and average grades as the questionnaire differentiated between males and females, the undergraduate year, and their grade point average (GPA). Students were also asked to indicate their degree of satisfaction with studying dentistry by checking "enjoy," "like," and "dislike." A scale from 1 to 10 was developed and used to classify the degree of satisfaction as follows: <5: dislike dentistry and would choose another profession if I had the opportunity to choose again; 5–7: like dentistry and will continue the curriculum although I did not choose to study this profession, my marks at high school allowed me to select dentistry; and >7: enjoy studying dentistry and have enough enthusiasm for it. The questionnaire was distributed to each class at the end of the lecture. All the students participated voluntarily and the responses were anonymous as students did not write their names or an identifying number on the questionnaire.

	Results

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The questionnaire was returned by all 200 students, yielding a response rate of 100 percent. Table 1 shows the list of thirteen cheating behaviors and the percent of students who rated each item as either "very serious cheating" or not serious cheating.’’

The majority of the students (95 percent) reported that signing faculty name either in the patients’ chart or to an attendance form is an unjustified behavior and works against the principles and ethics of the profession. This is the same for intentionally falsifying the treatment record as it will expose the students to problems with the academic supervisor as well as legal problems with the university administration.

Table 2 shows the students’ responses to the justification of cheating. The majority of students agreed that cheating is never justified for getting better grades or "looking better" to families and friends.

Students also responded to the question "Do you consider yourself an ethical person?" The majority (85 percent) reported that they considered themselves to be ethical, while 10 percent selected somewhat ethical and 5 percent selected not ethical.

	Discussion

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This study was conducted to explore the attitudes of undergraduate students in the Faculty of Dentistry at the Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan. There is still controversy and the picture is not clear about the students’ attitudes toward different cheating behaviors, but overall, in this investigation, most of the students agreed that cheating is not justified for the reasons presented to them. This is because students who cheat against the principles expose themselves to conflicts and problems. Such students may benefit from courses in ethics emphasizing the attitudes that underlie cheating behavior.⁴ The response rate in this study was 100 percent. This reflects the importance of the issue of cheating, which was supported by verbal comments from students who participated in this study reported after completion of the questionnaire. All agreed that this issue is not well addressed in our institution and needs more emphasis to provide educational programs that deal with attitudes toward cheating and its implications.

Several studies that investigated changes that took place in students’ behaviors during their professional education concluded that changes are more likely to be influenced by events outside the school rather than by their school experience.^5,6

The most serious cheating behaviors selected by the students in this study include: signing a faculty name in patient’s chart, signing a faculty name on an attendance list, and intentionally writing a false treatment record. These results agree with a survey by Warman et al.⁹ The seriousness of these behaviors is demonstrated by what happened to a student in our institution who falsified the treatment record and falsified the mark given to him by his supervisor. An investigation committee was formed, and the student had to repeat that academic course the following year. In contrast, only 30 percent of the students in this study rated getting help for didactic homework when teachers forbade such collaboration as a very serious ethical problem. Again, this is consistent with findings of Warman et al.⁹ and Nuss.¹⁰ Signing an attendance list for absent students was considered as serious cheating by 40 percent of the subjects. This result is in agreement with other surveys completed by medical students.⁹ Although these behaviors are forms of cheating, they may not result in a penalty that affects the students’ educational profession as the students reported. It is important to note that the majority of dental students in this study (85 percent) who reported that they enjoy studying dentistry is the same majority who considered themselves ethical and is the same majority who rated the nine cheating behaviors as serious cheating. This reflects the consistency of the opinions of the students and the agreement on what is surely not proper behavior.

Careful reflection on why cheating is wrong leads us to reflect on the nature of the profession of dentistry and the place of the student within it and on the proper relationship between teacher and student. These reflections lead us to ask further whether we, as teachers, or our institutions are somehow partly doing this to ourselves. If we are, that is wrong and needs correction too. The obligations of teachers as professionals require them to ask if they are functioning appropriately in this respect, because cheating is a violation to the learning relationship between teacher and students. Cheaters are simultaneously able to hold two contradictory views. First, cheating is wrong. Second, since every one else is cheating, I am not really doing anything all that bad and I am still a good person. This will be reflected in their life patterns and helps to establish attitudes and behaviors that can badly affect future patient care, dental education, and research, which all rely on the judgment and sense of ethical responsibility cultivated in a professional school. Odom suggested a method of reducing cheating by applying a comprehensive approach that 1) acknowledges the problem, 2) encourages the development and implementation of a systematic institutional strategy that stresses professionalism, and 3) administers swift and fair punishment to detected cheaters.⁶

Overall, it is clear that academic fraud has become a major issue at schools and universities today. The key causes for this are the confusion concerning what constitutes cheating, new technology, and the burden to obtain high marks. Our academic institution is taking measures to decrease the problem. Video cameras are installed to record each student’s every move during an exam, and computers are being used to customize individual exams. In addition, the penalty for students who are caught cheating has increased. If students are passionate about learning, they will work hard to achieve their grades. Nonetheless, the temptation to cheat, and guarantee top marks, is still great. Cheating undermines the integrity and moral principles of a student. Society must put more emphasis on these values, rather than on obtaining high marks, in order to resolve the severe problem of academic fraud in schools.

Finally, we think that students can benefit from specialized educational programs that address the issue of cheating and its implications. This should be part of the dental school curriculum.

	REFERENCES

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1. Ozar DT. The ethical ramifications of cheating. J Dent Educ 1991;55:276–81.[Medline]
2. Bowles LT. Integrity in medical education. J Med Educ 1983;58:591.[Medline]
3. Seirles F, Hendricks I, Circle S. Cheating in medical school. J Med Educ 1980;55(2):124–5.[Medline]
4. Lancaster DM, Gardiner JF, Strother EA, Boozer CH. Dental students’ class attitudes: a four-year study. J Am Coll Dent 1989;56:30–5.[Medline]
5. Odom JG. The practical ramifications of cheating. J Dent Educ 1991;55:272–5.[Medline]
6. Bebeau M, Rest JR, Yamoor CM. Measuring dental students’ ethical sensitivity. J Dent Educ 1985;49:225–35.[Abstract]
7. Loupe MJ. Changes in the values of dental students and dentists over a ten-year period. J Dent Educ 1979;43: 170–5.[Abstract]
8. Gershen J. Changes in personality among male and female dental graduates. J Dent Educ 1982;46:279–83.[Abstract]
9. Warman E, Harvan RA, Weidman B. Dental students’ attitude toward cheating. J Dent Educ 1994;58:402–5.[Medline]
10. Nuss E. Academic integrity: comparing faculty and student attitudes. Improving College Univ Teaching 1984; 32:140–4.

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