Dear parents and guardians,
This week we held a special session about Academic Honesty for our secondary teachers. The focus of our discussion was the following set of questions:
- Why do students cheat?
- What should the aims of an academic honesty policy be?
- How can we support students on their academic honesty journey?
Teachers discussed each of these questions in small groups, and engaged in larger group discussions and debates. What unfolded was a series of very useful conversations that provided each attendee with significant insights into the reasoning behind academic dishonesty, the practical applications of our school’s academic policy and the role that educators play in the development of students’ understanding of academic honesty in an era defined by the upsurge in the use of of generative artificial intelligence tools such as Chat GPT.
As a group, we concluded – and the research concurs – that students tend to cheat for three main reasons: (1) pressure to achieve high grades, (2) a lack of understanding of the content that has not been conveyed to the subject teacher, and (3) a sense that cheating is acceptable within their peer group. We agreed that our academic policy and procedures must contemplate and be responsive to these and other key considerations.
During our conversation about our role as educators, we concluded that as educators, we must begin by ensuring that our students understand the connectedness of academic dishonesty, integrity and morality in a broader sense. We also came to a consensus that the fostering of supportive learning environments has an impact on lessening the likelihood of academic dishonesty, as students are (a) more likely to approach students during times of difficulty and (b) view a low grade as a step on a pathway towards personal improvement.
We concluded that one of our goals as educators is to inspire the next generation to develop sound character. As an IB World School, one of our aims is to inculcate the IB learner profile traits, one of which is “Caring”. We want our secondary students and Ellesmere Muscat to care about, value and honour the process of becoming greater versions of themselves in the realm of academics and beyond.
Best regards,
Mr. Ibrahim Abd Rahman
Secondary Team Leader