Cedarville University DigitalCommons@Cedarville Master of Education Research Theses Master of Education Capstones 12-14-2018 Teachers’ Perceptions of Plagiarism in International High Schools and Divisions in China’s First-Tier Cities Katie Marie Thomas Cedarville University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/education_theses Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, and the Language and Literacy Education Commons Recommended Citation Thomas, Katie Marie, "Teachers’ Perceptions of Plagiarism in International High Schools and Divisions in China’s First-Tier Cities" (2018). Master of Education Research Theses.edu/education_theses/80 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Cedarville, a service of the Centennial Library. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Education Research Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Cedarville. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@cedarville.
Running head: TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 1 Teachers’ Perceptions of Plagiarism in International High Schools and Divisions in China’s First-Tier Cities Katie M. Thomas Cedarville University TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 2 Table of Contents Abstract. 5 Definition of Plagiarism. 7 Definition of Terms.
12 Knowledge of Plagiarism. 12 Consequences for Plagiarism. 15 Instruction on Plagiarism. 16 Attitudes toward Plagiarism.
19 Student Motivations to Plagiarize. 29 Knowledge of Plagiarism – Degree of Offenses. 29 Knowledge of Plagiarism – Frequency of Offenses. 32 Consequences for Plagiarism.
35 TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 3 Instruction on Plagiarism. 37 Personal Attitudes toward Plagiarism. 40 Student Motivations to Plagiarize. 59 Limitations to the Study.
65 Appendix A: Online Survey Text. 71 Appendix B: Select Follow-Up Interview Questions. 86 Appendix C: Select Follow-Up Interview Transcripts. 140 TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 4 Abstract This paper explores perceptions of plagiarism among the diverse faculty in international high schools and divisions in China’s first-tier cities.
In survey and interviews, participants reflected previous research in their punitive attitudes and identified obvious expressions but lacked consensus on subtler forms, suggesting institutions should develop precise policies that are reevaluated and revised annually to mitigate the effects of high faculty turnover. A discrepancy was noted between low frequency of offenses reported and more than half of participants believing plagiarism was a “big issue” in their institutions. The oft-implemented parental contact as a punishment was seen as ineffective and thus should be replaced by GPA-related ones. Participants indicated they spent more time teaching about the nature of plagiarism rather than how to avoid it; this suggests teachers should reformulate the balance of knowledge and skills taught, supplementing knowledge with practical instruction on research skills, responsible Internet use, and time management.
Keywords: plagiarism, perceptions, teachers, China, international, high school TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 5 Teachers’ Perceptions of Plagiarism in International High Schools and Divisions in China’s First-Tier Cities Academic integrity, particularly plagiarism, has been a persistent subject of study worldwide for the past few decades, especially in light of growing concerns regarding the rapid development of and access to technology. More specifically, research focusing on international students’ understandings of and reasons for committing plagiarism has increased as the students’ numbers hold steady and continue to grow in many Western countries’ educational institutions. Researchers also have turned their attention to teachers and their perceptions regarding these issues. However, little is known about the perceptions of the ethnically diverse groups of teachers who instruct Chinese students who are preparing to study abroad when still in their motherland.
This study seeks to explore the perceptions of plagiarism among the aforementioned teachers, both of local and foreign descent, who are employed by international schools as well as divisions attached to public middle and high schools in China’s first-tier cities, which are considered the largest in population and gross domestic product as well as overall most developed in the country (Ming, 2017, p. These international divisions have existed alongside international schools across China for the past 15 years (Shi, 2016, p. International schools in China began in the 1980s and were open only to international students initially (Zha, 2017, p. The past decade in particular has seen an easing of regulations, allowing and even encouraging the establishment of such institutions in order to meet the demands of a growing middle class (Morrison, 2017, p.
Legal alterations have concentrated on designations and financial operations of the schools in TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 6 addition to stressing the place of and need for Chinese subjects (Keeling, 2016, p. According to ISC Research’s school director Richard Gaskell, “There is a huge growing desire by middle- income families throughout East Asia, particularly China, to invest significant amounts of money to give their child the best education in order to get them into the best Western Universities,” (Marsh, 2017, p. As a result of the amendments to regulations as well as the economic boom helping to create the above-mentioned middle class, the country now boasts the greatest number of international educational institutions in the world (Morrison, 2017, p. There are approximately 807 schools in China featuring international curricula with nearly 312,000 school- age students, according to ISC Research (Morrison, 2017, p.
Demand is anticipated to continue growing based on projections of increasing student enrollment and proportionate needs for qualified teachers (Marsh, 2017, p. 1), even in the midst of a mounting government priority to ensure all education aims at “[training] constructors and successors of socialism with Chinese characteristics,” (Zha, 2017, p. While distinctive in many respects, both international schools and divisions attached to public ones share certain characteristics. International curricula and testing, high tuition and fees, and diverse foreign and Chinese faculty are the most apparent (Zheng, 2016, p.
Depending on the school or division, common standardized tests that are required or highly encouraged include Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), ACT, SAT, and Advanced Placement (AP) subject tests (Shi, 2016, p. Prevalent curricula include International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB), Cambridge’s International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), and the United Kingdom’s General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 7 (Shi, 2016, p. Tuition and fees range from $15,000-$47,000 per year for schools while divisions often include additional costs on top of the hosting institution’s (Shi, 2016, p. Recent findings from ISC Research demonstrate a preference and thus demand for “‘skilled Western expatriates’ who have both native English language proficiency and experience teaching the appropriate curriculum and pedagogy,” (Marsh, 2017, p.
Local faculty are responsible not only for instructing students in Chinese language, history, politics, and geography in order to meet government regulations, but also working alongside foreign staff to fulfill crucial leadership and disciplinary roles (Keeling, 2016, p. The most manifest difference between the two major types is their legal statuses as private or public. Most international schools are classified as private now according to China’s recent amendments to education regulations, while international divisions are seen as public since they are attached to public schools and thus partially funded by taxes (Keeling, 2016, p. Divisions, thus, have faced criticism for using public funds while still requiring additional tuition and fees (Zheng, 2016, p.
As a result, China’s government is no longer issuing licenses for such divisions, and these divisions are predicted to either close or become international schools (Zha, 2017, p. Another noticeable variance is the requirement for division students to take and pass huikao, China’s high school graduation test (Zheng, 2016, p. Definition of Plagiarism Researchers have found the term “plagiarism” to be difficult to define due to a variety of issues observed and investigated by researchers over the past few decades. Bloch (2012) TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 8 commented: “The lack of a consensus has led to highly charged, and often emotional, debates over the nature of plagiarism and the appropriate responses to it.
Despite attempts by many institutions throughout the world, defining and codifying a universal definition of plagiarism has remained a highly contentious topic in discussions of almost every form of writing,” (p. Pecorari and Petric (2014) observed: “When asked about their own understandings of plagiarism, though, as a number of researchers have done, both students and staff are much more hesitant and much more varied in their constructions of the concept,” (p. Pecorari and Petric (2014) noted that dictionary definitions that are popularly used differ significantly from versions used by academic institutions (p. Pecorari (2008), focusing on its more scientific nature, has concisely defined plagiarism as “an act of language use” (p.
In a 2012 publication, Bloch opted for a legal tone: Plagiarism refers to the inappropriate use of what is called intellectual property. In the United States, intellectual property is defined as creative acts that have been placed in a fixed medium. Intellectual property differs from physical property in that, with often complex restrictions, it can be borrowed, distributed and utilized without seeking the permission of the owner, something that would be a clear violation of the law in regard to physical property. Intellectual property is often given a fixed limit of protection, which is rarely true for physical property.
Ideas, on the other hand, are not considered intellectual property unless they are placed in a fixed medium. 1) Definitions that feature a moralistic nature, which dominant the academic landscape, include those from the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) and the Council of TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 9 Writing Program Administrators (WPA). According to Pavela’s (1997) ICAI-supported definition, plagiarism is “intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise,” (p. The WPA (2003) states: “In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source.
This definition applies to texts published in print or on-line, to manuscripts, and to the work of other student writers,” (Council of Writing Program Administrators, 2003, p. These two definitions are the baseline for the research presented in the current study. Researchers have also identified intent as a vital distinction between prototypical plagiarism, which denotes willful, knowing deception, and patchwriting (along with its near relative of jig-sawing), which is largely becoming seen as a learning strategy that is eventually resolved when an individual demonstrates an effective authorial voice (Pecorari, 2008, pp. 4, 5; Pecorari & Petric, 2014, pp.
Patchwriting refers to “copying from a source text and then deleting some words, altering grammatical structures, or plugging in one synonym for another” (Pecorari & Petric, 2014, p. Jig-sawing occurs when students are “‘lifting’ expressions from [various sources] and combining them and adding some of their own” (Pecorari & Petric, 2014, p. Thus, Pecorari (2008) outlined three conditions that must be observed and confirmed by faculty before a charge of plagiarism is laid upon a student (p. These included: (1) “the new text must contain words and/or ideas that are also present in an earlier text;” (2) “a new text must repeat words or ideas from an earlier one; that is, the similarity between two texts cannot be coincidental;” and (3) “the new text must fail to attribute its relationship to an earlier one, or fail to attribute it adequately,” (Pecorari, 2008, p.
TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PLAGIARISM 10 Terminology is evolving, though, in response to the negative history of and connotations behind plagiarism. Pecorari and Petric (2014) mentioned “textual borrowing” and “transgressive and non-transgressive intertextuality” are becoming the “more precise and ‘ethically-neutral language’” of choice for researchers (p. Patchwriting is recognized to occur on at least two levels, namely a localized or global one (Pecorari & Petric, 2014, p.