The international dimension of academic integrity: An integrative literature review

Abstract

Numerous studies suggest that 30 to 90 percent of students engage in academic dishonesty, but incidents of academic integrity involving international students may garner more attention and can create scandals (Bowman, 2017). Furthermore, international students who become entangled in incidents of academic misconduct face serious life consequences that are potentially devastating to the student, including expulsion from academic studies and dishonour in family life. The stakes are high for both international students and the institutions that host them. This proposal provides an integrative literature of the research surrounding international students and academic integrity, with a focus on successful institutional interventions and strategies that proactively address and reduce the likelihood of challenges to academic integrity. International students studying in Canada, particularly those whose first language is not English, may face several hurdles not experienced by their Canadian counterparts. Differing cultural conceptions of text ownership, educational systems, and linguistic barriers may all contribute to international students’ unintentional plagiarism (Amsberry, 2010). Therefore, it is imperative to orient international students to the concept of academic integrity in the context of Canada because academic credentials are a signal that assert the student has mastered academic norms of the new culture. The signal is communicated to employers, graduate schools, and protecting the credential’s signal has implications for the entire Canadian post-secondary system and the larger society. Academic honesty is highly desirable to support claims students have acquired the learning outcomes the institution claims, and in the worst case, incompetence could serious jeopardize human safety, particularly in the cases of health-care workers, medical practitioners, or engineers (Katkins, 2018, p. 269). International students are also facing increased temptation and easier methods for engaging in academic misconduct. There are now thriving online businesses for students to purchase term papers, pay someone to take a test, do their homework, or access an “editor-for-hire.” (Bowman, 2017; Gallant, 2019). Many of these company’s market directly to international students (Katkins, 2018). The pressure points and opportunities to engage in academic dishonesty have contributed to a consistent rise in contract cheating and have forced colleges and universities to engage in a technological arms race with students to prevent more sophisticated incidents of academic misconduct. It is imperative that host colleges and universities develop strategies that help international students succeed without resorting to academic behaviours classified as academic dishonesty and academic misconduct. This session explores recommended strategies and approaches from the literature, as well as asks symposium participants to discuss what they are doing at their institutions to keep pace with new challenges in academic integrity at their institutions.