Attitude towards examination cheating among university students in Kenya: an attribution to academic and non academic stress levels

Abstract

Exam cheating is a common problem in Kenya and affects both the lower and higher levels of education. Earlier studies in Kenya have investigated the methods of exam malpractices that have been used by students. This study examined the academic and non-academic stressors among university students in the western region of Kenya. The purpose was to determine the relationship between the Kenyan university students‟ stress levels and their attitude towards exam cheating. The level of stress was the independent variable and the attitude towards exam cheating was the dependent variable. Mediating variables included gender, the level of education, the type of university and age. This study adopted a post-positivist paradigm, a quantitative research method and correlation research design. The study was conducted among Bachelor of Education students from universities in western Kenya. It was based on attribution theory and cognitive appraisal theory. Attribution theory is concerned with how individuals interpret events and how this relates to their thinking and behavior. Cognitive appraisal theory proposes that there is a meditational process between a stimulus (input) and response (output). The study population was Bachelor of Education students in western Kenya. A sample of 450 undergraduate students was selected from the schools of education of participating universities. Three questionnaires were used to collect data. The first was titled Academic Stress Level (ASL), the second was Non-Academic Stress Level (NASL) and the third was titled Exam Cheating Attitude (ECA).the instruments were validated using discriminant and construct validity which yielded 0.7and 0.5 respectively. A pilot study was conducted at the University of Masinde Muliro. The data obtained was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics used included percentages, frequencies, means and standard deviation. The inferential statistics used were t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation. These statistics determined the relationships between Academic Stress Level and Exam Cheating Attitude likewise the relationship between Non-Academic Stress Levels and Exam Cheating Attitude at the 0.05 level of significance. The study found out that there was a significant difference on academic stress level based on gender and the year of study. There was also a significant variation on non-academic stress levels based on the year of study and university type. The first year students had higher mean for the non-academic stress levels than the other years. On examination cheating attitude a higher percentage of the students expressed an ambivalent attitude with a significant difference based on the year of study and the type of university. It was also found that there was a positive correlation between academic stress level and examination cheating attitude. There was also a significant positive correlation between non-academic stress level and examination cheating attitude. Based on the findings it was concluded that most university students experienced high level of academic stress and female students were found to experience higher academic stress levels than male students. It was equally concluded that there was a significant positive relationship between stress levels and exam cheating attitude. This study recommends that universities should create avenues of helping students to cope with stress as this may enable them to curb cheating in examinations.