ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF STUDENT’S AND TEACHERS TOWARDS EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE.
TABLE OF CONTENT Pages
Title page
Certification
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Abstract
Table of Content
CHAPTER ONE
Background of the Study
Statement of problem
Scope of Study
Research Questions
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the Study
Justification of the Study
Limitations of the Study
Operational Definition of Terms
CHAPTER TWO
Literature review
Introduction
The Concept of Examination and Examination
malpractice
Definition of Examination Malpractice
Different faces of Examination Malpractices
Forms of Examination Malpractices
History of Examination Malpractices
Possible Causes of Examination Malpractices on Schools
Attitude of Secondary School Students Towards
Examination Malpractices
Consequences of Examination Malpractices in Schools
Remedial Approaches to
Malpractices in Secondary Schools
CHAPTER THREE
Introduction
Research Design
Sample Size
Sampling Procedure
Instrumentation
Validity and Reliability of the Instrument
Method of Data Collection
Method of Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
Presentation and Analysis of data
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary of Findings, Conclusion and
Recommendations
Summary of Findings
Conclusion
Recommendation
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
ABSTRACT
This research was carried out to investigate examination
malpractice among secondary school students in Ado Local Government area in Ekiti
State The project examined the attitude and perception of students and teachers
towards examination malpractice in secondary schools. In this research work, a
sample of one hundred (100) respondents was collected using purposive sampling
techniques from four secondary schools in Ado Local Government. The research
instrument used for the study was the teachers and students perception
questionnaire which was validated by the supervisor and used for the collection
of data from the respondents.
The data collected from respondents were analyzed with
distribution tables and simple percentage using liker scale. At the end of the
analysis the study revealed the major reasons for examination malpractice which
include parental pressure for good grades, peer group influence, inadequate
preparation, and so on. Based on the findings it way recommended that good
remuneration, re-orientation of teachers and parents should be on barked upon
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Evidence abound
of increasing incidents of examination malpractices by students at schools and
colleges; which conflict with the core purpose of education which is the
training of the mind and character for the acquisition of practical and
theoretical skills, knowledge and functional ideas for development; and the
search for truth and knowledge and the creation and communication of ideas (
Aaron, 1992).
In Nigeria, the
first publicly reported case of examination malpractice occurred in 1914 when
there was a leakage of question papers in the senior Cambridge local
Examination.
Ever since, there
have been cases of irregularities reported on a yearly basis while the
outstanding years were 1963, 1967,1970, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987,
1991,1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,2002,2003 (West African
Examination Council, 2004). The major forms of examination malpractices
reported are: Impersonation, bringing in foreign materials (books, calculator),
substituting worked scripts, stealing, converting, misappropriating scripts;
collusion in the examination hall (copying), mass/organized cheating involving
assistance from teachers and outsiders; and insult/assault on
supervisors/invigilators (Oluyeba and Daramola, 1992). This trend in
examination malpractices is inimical to academic development and advancement
and needs to be drastically addressed.
Examination malpractice can be defined
as a deliberate act of wrong doing, contrary to official rules, and is designed
to place a candidate at an unfair advantage or disadvantage; it is a careless,
illegal or unacceptable behaviour by a candidate in a formal test of his
knowledge or ability in a particular subject (Philemon, 2007). It could also be
said to be an act of omission or commission which compromises the validity and
integrity of any examination (Okwu, 2006). Examination malpractice is
counter-practice that is against ethics of examination, it is an act of
disrespect to all rules and regulations guiding the good conduct of any
examination or any evaluation process.
Examination
malpractice is an illegal or unethical behaviour by somebody in the process of
testing an examinee’s ability or knowledge by means of question (Ikupa, 1997).
Oluyeba and Daramola (1992) remarked that examination malpractice is any
irregular behavior exhibited by a candidate or anybody charged with the conduct
of examination before, during or after the examination which contravenes the
rules and regulations governing the conduct of such examination. Such examination malpractice
will include any of the following: examination leakage, impersonation,
cheating, collusion, swapping of scripts, smuggling of answer scripts in
examination halls, result/certificate forgery, verbal/physical assault on
examination administrators.
Similarly, Kibler
(1993) defined examination mal-practices as forms of cheating and plagiarism
that involve students giving or receiving unauthorized assistance in an
academic exercise or receiving credit for work that is not their own.
In Nigeria the
last two decades have witnessed an alarming rate of crisis of examination
misconduct especially in the Secondary and tertiary institutions. It has been
widely reported that parents aid and abet examination malpractices directly or
indirectly because they even go to the extent of bribing their way through to
ensure that their wards get unearned grades. The teachers on their part
encourage examination malpractices because they lack the zeal to work and at
the end would want to be praised for a job, which was never done thus
graduating students who do not actually possess the abilities for which they
were examined (Nanna, 1997).
Examination
malpractice is not a recent phenomenon or is it peculiar to Nigeria or Africa;
but it is a global issue (Ikupa, 1997). However, the alarming rate of its
increase in Nigeria calls for novel ways to redress the situation. Examination
misconduct has some social and psychological dimensions, which the counselor
should address with holistic intervention. Good grades in any examination are gateways
to further education and entry into the world of work. But if the value systems
of our youths are well constructed, the examination ethics should be adhered
to. According to Omoluabi (1993) and Uzoka (1993), our value system has broken
down completely and so adults and youths alike act without moral scruples. The
general emphasis in our society today is on materialism, bribery, corruption,
cultism, sexual promiscuity, fraud, violence, certificate racketeering and a
host of other social vices. Aina (1996) succinctly stated that, ethics and
integrity are the solution to all the examination ills.
Hence, the social, political and economic
structure of this nation is dependent on the promotion of examination ethics;
and that hard work is a virtue which once cultivated takes one through life and
forms the foundation for an enduring success. Alutu (2002) in a seminar to
Secondary School students in Benin City on academic excellence drew students’
attention to the 3p’s —praying, planning and persistent hard work— to academic
excellence. The students who were mainly from a Christian community were made
to know that praying to God for success without matching it with good study
plans and use of time and persistent hard work will not lead them to achieve
the goal of academic excellence.
In the WAEC conducted examination in
1991, 30,982 students were involved in examination malpractices while 35,479
were reported in 1992. Shonekan (1996) opines that 1992-1995 a total of
2,818,679 candidates sat for the May/June and November/December Senior School
Certificate Examinations and 350,902 candidates’ results were withheld for
examination malpractices. Oriola (2003) reports that in 2003 JAMB (Joint
Admission and Matriculation Board) 1,099,241 sat for the examination and
116,990 candidates representing 11.5% results were withheld for various
examination offences. Jimoh (2009) states that the Federal Ministry of
Education blacklisted and derecognized 324 secondary schools across the nation
as centers for conducting public examinations from 2007 to 2010. The
distribution of the schools that were found guilty of examination malpractice
is shown in Table 1.
Table
1: Examination Malpractice in Nigerian Secondary Schools
Zones
|
No of Schools involved
|
%
|
North Central
|
54
|
16.6
|
North East
|
8
|
2.5
|
North West
|
12
|
3.6
|
South East
|
48
|
14.8
|
South West
|
86
|
26.5
|
South South
|
116
|
36.0
|
TOTAL
|
324
|
100
|
Source: Week End
Times, 17th & 18th February, 2007, p. 4
Table
1 shows the prevalence of examination malpractice in secondary schools in
Nigeria. It occurs in all geopolitical zones in the country.
The phenomenon of examination
malpractice seems to be aggravated by the large scale and shameful involvement
of dishonest and greedy teachers, school heads, parents and all those who take
part in examination administration (Ijaiya, 1998). The prominence assumed by
this malady in the school system has become a source of concern to stakeholders
in the education industry. Every examination season witnesses new and ingenious
methods of cheating. The examination process has become endangered to the
extent that certification has almost lost its credibility in the country.
Certificates no longer seem to reflect skill and competence. Accusing fingers
have been pointed at teachers, school heads, parents, students, examination
officials and even security agents as those responsible for examination
malpractice in the school system (Jimoh 2009).
Statement of the
Problem
The persistent occurrence of
examination malpractices has been a major concern to educationists. Despite the
high premium placed on examinations by the National Policy on Education, it
seems that examination malpractices have not been properly addressed in
Nigeria. Common observations have shown that there is mass cheating in public
examinations in the States. Nothing concrete has been done to reduce the
problem except the cancellation of results for a particular center or the
withholding of results in certain subjects.
The perception of teachers towards
examination malpractices differs from individual to individual and to a large extent
from society.
However,
the problem of examination malpractices has eroded the seriousness of students
in studying and learning. It has deprived students from learning instead, they
prefer going to examination hall with micro-chips, key points, even textbooks
to make things easy in the examination hall. Thus the resultant effect of this
illicit act is the production of half-baked graduates and invariably leading to
inefficiency.
Therefore,
this project sought to assess the attitude and perception of students and
teachers towards examination malpractices.
Purpose of the study
The broad objective of this study is
to examine the attitude and perception of secondary school students and
teachers in examination malpractices.
The
specific objectives are:
i.
To examine the various factors
influencing examination malpractices.
ii.
To find out the motivating factor
influencing examination malpractices.
iii.
To determine the role of school
authorities in aiding, abetting, and preventing examination malpractices.
iv.
To examine what motivate teachers to
partake in examination malpractices.
v.
To determine the roles of parents
,guardians and peer group in examination malpractices
vi.
To make useful recommendations based on
the research findings.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The
researcher of this study intends to carry out a research on the issue which
raises the following questions:
i.
What attitudes do students portray
towards examination?
ii.
What are the factors that predispose students
to examination malpractices?
iii.
Is there any significant role played by school
authorities towards examination malpractices for the students?
iv.
Towards extent does teachers perception
influence examination malpractice in secondary
school
v.
Towards extent do the parents organs
influence the examination malpractice in the secondary school
Justification
of the Study
The need to assess the attitude and
perception of teachers and students towards examination malpractices cannot be
underestimated in recent time and the outcome of this research work will be of
immense benefit to the government agencies, principals of schools, teachers,
parents/guardians and the society at large. This will provide useful
information and guidelines for solving the problem of examination malpractices
in secondary schools.
Significance
of the Study
i.
The study will beam more light on the problem
of examination malpractices in secondary schools
ii.
It will help to enlighten education
administrators on the principles of solving the problems of examination
malpractices in schools.
iii.
The research work will provide
opportunity for better appreciation of educational certificate in the country.
iv.
It will help in solving the problem of
brain drain in the country.
v.
It will help secondary school student to
put the right attitude towards learning and in examinations.
Scope
of the Study
The
canker worm of examination malpractices has eaten deep into the fabric of
education in the country. This study will concentrate on the effects of
examination malpractice, their causes, and possible solution in some selected
secondary schools in Ado Local Government in Ekiti State
Limitations of the Study
The major constraints to this research
work is time required in administering the questionnaire and the writing of the
thesis, as well as the cost of moving from one school to another in
administering and filling of the questionnaire by respondents. Also, uncooperative
attitude of some students and teachers in filling the questionnaire.
Lastly, the non
- availability of enough materials and literatures on the project topic
constitutes a constraint.
Operational
Definition of Terms
Examination: It is a way to ascertain how much of a
subject matter in a particular field of study the candidate has mastered. In
other words, it is a process through which studies are evaluated or tested to
find out the quality of knowledge they have acquired within a specific period.
Malpractice: It is a failure of professional person
to proper services through reprehensive ignorance or negligence or through
criminal intent. It is also referred to as improper misconduct.
Examination
malpractice:
Is
any act of omission or commission that contravenes the Rules and Regulations of
the examination body to the extent of undermining the validity and reliability
of the tests and ultimately, the integrity of the certificates issued.
School
Authorities:
This refers to teachers and principals who are invigilators and
supervisors of examination in schools.
Education: It is the transmission of cultural renewal.
It is the development of the mind and body (cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor domains) of an individual in order that he/she may become useful to
the society.
Educational
Administrator:
This refers to someone who administers an educational organization of a
unit within the organization either a system or an institution such as
university, polytechnics, colleges, etc.
Teacher:
One who educates and train others to learn .He is the person who impacts
knowledge into others through some teaching skills and methods.
Curriculum: This is a guide to the things students are
taught in schools. Thus, the content of teaching and learning can be in the
form of theory and practice.
School
Facilities: this refers
to thing such as buildings, classroom chairs, tables, school hall, Field,
Materials etc. that are useful in the school system and enhances effective
teaching and learning.
Test
Anxiety: This refers to
the fear a student exhibits before, during or after writing a test.
CHAPTER
TWO
LITERATURE
REVIEW
Introduction
This
chapter review related studies under the sub-themes listed below
v The Concept of Examination and Examination malpractice
v Definition of Examination Malpractice
v Different faces of Examination Malpractices
v Forms of Examination Malpractices
v History of Examination Malpractices
v Possible Causes of Examination Malpractices on Schools
v Attitude of Secondary School Students towards Examination Malpractices
v Consequences of Examination Malpractices in Schools
v Remedial Approaches to Malpractices in Secondary Schools
Summary
of the Literature Review
