Ethical Challenge Regarding Academic Dishonesty
Ethical Challenge Regarding Academic Dishonesty
Question One
Cultural relativism is the view that social and ethical standards are reflected in the derived cultural context. Cultural relativism argues that cultures are different and so do the moral models structuring relations in different societies (Censi et al., 2019). In Islam culture, academic cheating is one of the acts of lying that is sinful and thus prohibited. It is a form of dishonesty that the Qur’an forbids. In Islam, honesty is an act of sincerity and encompasses being straightforward and fair. Hence deceit, cheating, lies, and trickery are unacceptable. On the other hand, members of the global cheating culture will agree that academic cheating is a norm. Hence, they will argue that everyone else is cheating as they think that each individual is doing so. They blame cheating on the socioeconomic and corruption conditions.
Subjectivism doctrine attests that there are no objective moral truths out there. In other words, there are no objective moral facts that actions such as academic cheating among other issues like murder are wrong (Năznean, 2021). Therefore, what is wrong is based on personal decisions or experiences one has got. An individual who insists that there are no moral facts insisting that academic cheating is wrong will end up committing it. Hence, a student who has poor study skills that prevent them from attaining a passing mark can end up cheating. A student having the pressure to succeed will end up cheating so as to get better grades or rather stand out among their peers. On the other hand, too, a student who feels that cheating is wrong despite no moral truths out there as emphasized by the subjectivism doctrine will not do so. A student believing that cheating will eventually result in failure will refrain from such an act (Ridwan and Diantimala, 2021). They understand that by skipping the hard work process of learning, one will never develop critical traits of dedication, persistence, sacrifice, and diligence.
Supernaturalism as one of God-based ethics argues that the only source of moral rules is God (Onu et al., 2021). Hence, something is only good because God purports so. The only way to live a righteous life is to do what God wants. As noted in the Bible, cheating in school is an act of dishonesty which is against what God insists we should do. The Bible also insists that any act of dishonesty ruins an individual reputation and integrity and should be avoided (Onu et al., 2021). The Qur’an also discourages cheating in examinations among other practices. It is an act of haram in Islam, the true religion of Allah (Onu et al., 2021). Cheating regardless of the type is never allowed in any aspect of life.
Question Two
Regardless of how a test is hard, I will never cheat in an exam. One of the reasons is that it is morally wrong for one to cheat. In my culture, for instance, that is Islam Culture, cheating regardless of the form is prohibited. We are taught that academic cheating is a sin and against the values of Allah such as integrity and honesty (Hendy et al., 2021). As noted in the Qur’an, honesty is one of the good attributes. It is a blessing of Almighty Allah and must be fulfilled. Through the virtue of honesty and integrity, one remains truthful and leaves a righteous way which is the key to paradise.
Besides, I will not cheat at any given point in the exam as it is not only morally wrong but it may affect me as an individual adversely. For example, cheating is an act of dishonesty since when one cheats; they claim that they are doing the work they are not. That is a form of inherent dishonesty. Additionally, it is morally wrong since it eliminates enrichment and deters progress (Hendy et al., 2021). Academic dishonesty stops one from expanding their mind through analytical and creative thinking. It deters progress since learning is a building process necessitated by tests and discussion. By cheating in any knowledge phase, one creates a gap in understanding the materials or tests provided. These are some of the reasons I will not opt to cheat. Instead of cheating, the right ways one would prepare enough for exams include studying in-depth the vast learning materials you are provided with. They provide one with enough understanding of the study materials and where they need further polishing.
Question Three
Ethics and laws despite being interrelated in several aspects have quite many differences between them. A law is a set of regulations and rules that are applied to regulate human behavior (Censi et al., 2019). Various theories and schools of law exist to date proposed by thinkers like Plato, Emmanuel Kant, Bentham, Jeremy, and Aristotle. Also, the laws cannot be created by any person. They are reinforced and implemented by a formal authority in the nation. It is a command of the sovereign which is made in complete consideration of the expectations and the needs of the people receding in such a country. In the United Arab Emirates, exam cheating is illegal (Censi et al., 2019). It is against the law to photocopy or share examination papers after or before an exam via social media, e-mail, or by any means.
Ethics is derived from the Greek word called ‘ethos.’ It means a character or a custom. It concentrates on the societal moral aspects along with the moral behavior of people. It thus refers to the basic values individuals should have and follow as members of society (APAYDIN, 2021). Within Rabdan Academy, major held values include being open, working hard, being honest, saying thank you, and being patient. By being honest, one is expected that even in tests, they answer the questions honestly without cheating. Academic cheating is immoral in our school setting. This also includes acts like plagiarism, copying others’ work, obtaining unfair advantage, and having unauthorized access to Rabdan Academy data, systems, and records (Rabdan Academy, 2023). Cheating is indeed morally wrong and prohibited in the academy.
References
APAYDIN, A. İ. (2021). THE CONCEPT OF ETHOS AND THE THEORY OF ETHOS IN ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHY. PROCEEDINGS BOOK, 240. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298521442_THE_THEORY_OF_ETHOS_AND_CONCEPT_OF_PAIDEIA_IN_PLATO’S_AND_ARISTOTLE’S_THOUGHTS_ON_MUSIC
Censi, A., Slutsky, K., Wongpiromsarn, T., Yershov, D., Pendleton, S., Fu, J., & Frazzoli, E. (2019, May). Liability, ethics, and culture-aware behavior specification using rulebooks. In 2019 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) (pp. 8536-8542). IEEE. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335138579_Liability_Ethics_and_Culture-Aware_Behavior_Specification_using_Rulebooks
Hendy, N. T., Montargot, N., & Papadimitriou, A. (2021). Cultural differences in academic dishonesty: A social learning perspective. Journal of Academic Ethics, 19, 49-70. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348520125_Cultural_Differences_in_Academic_Dishonesty_A_Social_Learning_Perspective
Năznean, A. (2021). CHEATING DURING ONLINE EXAMINATIONS–. JOURNAL PEDAGOGY, 2, 7-21. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Miruna-Miulescu/publication/362911223_Revista_de_Pedagogie_-_Journal_of_Pedagogy_2021_Vol_LXIX_Issue_2/links/6307622a5eed5e4bd11b69e8/Revista-de-Pedagogie-Journal-of-Pedagogy-2021-Vol-LXIX-Issue-2.pdf#page=9
Onu, D. U., Onyedibe, M. C. C., Ugwu, L. E., & Nche, G. C. (2021). Relationship between religious commitment and academic dishonesty: is self-efficacy a factor? Ethics & Behavior, 31(1), 13-20. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10508422.2019.1695618
Rabdan Academy (2023). Student Handbook Undergraduate. https://ra.ac.ae/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/English-Under-Graduates-Bachelors-Handbook-2019-2023-1-1.pdf
Ridwan, R., & Diantimala, Y. (2021). The positive role of religiosity in dealing with academic dishonesty. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), 1875541. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311975.2021.1875541
