Students' attitude toward cheating in Switzerland, Ukraine and Poland

Abstract

The article discusses the problem of academic dishonesty, which has been growing in Western Europe, North America, in the transitional economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. However, cross-cultural comparisons remain scarce, particularly with regard to the former communist countries. This paper presents an exploratory study on academic misconduct in Switzerland, Ukraine and Poland. The Academic Dishonesty Scale was used. A sample of 870 university students participated. The results reveal no differences between Ukrainian and Polish students in terms of attitudes toward cheating. Swiss students expressed significantly more negative attitudes. The results offer implications for the practice of moral awareness.