1. Faculty Barriers to Academic Integrity Violations Reporting: A Qualitative Exploratory Case Study
- Author
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Pamela LeBrun
- Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore how executive leaders and faculty in "The College" located in a region of Ontario, Canada describe their perceptions of academic integrity processes and the experiences leading to underreporting of academic integrity incidents (AIVs). The study aimed to understand the participants' perspectives on reporting AIVs to improve the academic violation experience and to understand the underreporting of incidents at a college in Canada. A purposive sample of five executive leaders and 10 faculty at "The College," answered nine semi-structured, open ended interview questions through Zoom audio platform. The data collected through the interview, policy and process documents, and educational resources were analyzed through QSR NVivo 14 for categories, codes and themes. Thematic analysis revealed five major themes with minor sub-themes: (1) changes in perceptions of the college community, (2) strategies needed to uphold AI, (3) increased support for policy and process, (4) expectations causing barriers to reporting, and (5) needing educational resource assistance. The recommendations for practitioners and leaders are first, to increase faculty self-efficacy and motivate AIV reporting through additional needed resources improvements, with increases to support structures such as the AI Team and Peer Mentors. Second, educating students and upfront discussions on the importance of AI must be added to the AIV process to work towards changes in negative perceptions that have led to underreporting and job insecurity. Implementing these recommendations will assist with encouraging faculty reporting AIVs and upholding the reputation of the programs at "The College." [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
- Published
- 2023