Academic Integrity Literacy is a critical transdisciplinary skill for academic success but many students do not receive this skill in their K-12 years regardless of their schooling system or characteristics of the community they belong to. Numerous research studies in higher education document that high school graduates lack AIL skills, but hardly any studies attempt to empirically investigate students’ K-12 years AIL education experience. Using a mixed-method approach, this study explores university freshmen’s AIL education experience in their K-12 years, and (...) their opinions on the appropriate grade level to introduce AIL education. Of the university freshmen surveyed, roughly 1 in 10 received AIL education in middle school and 1 in 5 during high school. The survey of students’ current university instructors indicates a handful of freshmen have a fair understanding of academic integrity and plagiarism but their combined AIL application capacity, such as adhering to a referencing style and the quality of in-text source attributions in academic writing, is limited. The study results and professional experience allow the author to suggest rigorous AIL instruction and policy development for K-12 institutions to educate, empower and execute AIL education. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Academic dishonesty has been found to be on the increase globally, affecting the quality of education, ethics of professional practices and career outcome. Substantial literature exists on the role of religious commitment in reducing academic dishonesty, but few or no studies have examined the pathways explaining this link. The present study examined whether self-efficacy mediates the relationship between RC and AD. Undergraduates of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka completed the Academic Dishonesty Scale, Religious Commitment Inventory and New General Self-Efficacy (...) Scale and also provided relevant demographic information. Results of statistical analysis indicated that RC was negatively associated with AD. Self-efficacy was also a partial mediation in the relationship between RC and AD. This implies that self-efficacy contributes to the pathways through which RC influences AD among students. Our findings suggest that consideration of students’ level of self-judgment on their ability to cope with academic demands may be an important target toward enhancing the influence of RC in reducing academic dishonest behaviors among students. (shrink)