Abstract:
— Introduction: Academic integrity is important in
training of nurses since on completion of their studies the
nurses will be involved in taking care of lives. Academic
dishonesty among nursing students leads to putting the lives of
patients at risk. The Purpose of this study was toassess factors
contributing to academic dishonesty among Nursing Students
in Kenya Medical Training Colleges in Western Kenya.
Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical design was
employed in this study. Qualitative data was collected from
lecturers, administrators, examination coordinators,
disciplinary committee chair persons using Key informant
interviews. Structured questionnaires for students and
available records were used to collect quantitative data. Three
colleges were randomly sampled to include Webuye and
Bungoma in Bungoma County, kakamega in Kakamega
County. Systematic sampling was used to select222 students
who participated in the study while purposive sampling was
used in selecting 12 key informants. Qualitative data collected
addressed factors contributing to academic dishonest. Data
entered in SPSS version 25 software and analysis done using
both descriptive and inferential statistics. Odds ratio and p
value were used to determine the strength of association. A pvalue of less than or equal to 0.05 was considered significant.
Findings: The results revealed that of the 202 students,
about 47 % got involved in the academic malpractices of which
most respondents were females. However, the study results did
not reveal any relationship between respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender) and the acts of
academic dishonesty although a higher proportion of females
(48.6%) and those aged 20 years and above (49.5%) were
involved. The study indicated that students were sensitized on
academic dishonesty at the beginning of their program through
various ways with students’ handbook being used the
commonest (40.1%). Most common form of academic
dishonesty students engaged in was cheating (71.6%);most
students gave fear of consequences as the most important
reason that deterred them from engaging in academic
malpractices at 20%.Mainfactor contributing to academic
dishonesty was the lack of lecturers to adhere to policies during
administration of examinations (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2-4.5;
0.01). Other factors include students not aware of college rules
(OR:0.6;95%CI:0.3-1.0;0.07), overcrowding (47.8%),
accessibility to examination material (48.5%) and peer
pressure (50.4%).
Conclusion: The study concludes that academic dishonesty is
prevalent in the three colleges with cheating as the commonest
form with various contributing factors namely: overcrowding
and lack of lecturers adhering to policies in administration of
examinations, followed by family pressure to perform well.
Recommendation: This study therefore recommends that
lectures should adhere to college policies particularly during
invigilation of examinations and the administration should
ensure provision of enough spacing during examination. This
will contribute immensely towards enhancing academic
integrity among nursing students.
Description:
— Introduction: Academic integrity is important in
training of nurses since on completion of their studies the
nurses will be involved in taking care of lives. Academic
dishonesty among nursing students leads to putting the lives of
patients at risk. The Purpose of this study was toassess factors
contributing to academic dishonesty among Nursing Students
in Kenya Medical Training Colleges in Western Kenya.
Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical design was
employed in this study. Qualitative data was collected from
lecturers, administrators, examination coordinators,
disciplinary committee chair persons using Key informant
interviews. Structured questionnaires for students and
available records were used to collect quantitative data. Three
colleges were randomly sampled to include Webuye and
Bungoma in Bungoma County, kakamega in Kakamega
County. Systematic sampling was used to select222 students
who participated in the study while purposive sampling was
used in selecting 12 key informants. Qualitative data collected
addressed factors contributing to academic dishonest. Data
entered in SPSS version 25 software and analysis done using
both descriptive and inferential statistics. Odds ratio and p
value were used to determine the strength of association. A pvalue of less than or equal to 0.05 was considered significant.
Findings: The results revealed that of the 202 students,
about 47 % got involved in the academic malpractices of which
most respondents were females. However, the study results did
not reveal any relationship between respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender) and the acts of
academic dishonesty although a higher proportion of females
(48.6%) and those aged 20 years and above (49.5%) were
involved. The study indicated that students were sensitized on
academic dishonesty at the beginning of their program through
various ways with students’ handbook being used the
commonest (40.1%). Most common form of academic
dishonesty students engaged in was cheating (71.6%);most
students gave fear of consequences as the most important
reason that deterred them from engaging in academic
malpractices at 20%.Mainfactor contributing to academic
dishonesty was the lack of lecturers to adhere to policies during
administration of examinations (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2-4.5;
0.01). Other factors include students not aware of college rules
(OR:0.6;95%CI:0.3-1.0;0.07), overcrowding (47.8%),
accessibility to examination material (48.5%) and peer
pressure (50.4%).
Conclusion: The study concludes that academic dishonesty is
prevalent in the three colleges with cheating as the commonest
form with various contributing factors namely: overcrowding
and lack of lecturers adhering to policies in administration of
examinations, followed by family pressure to perform well.
Recommendation: This study therefore recommends that
lectures should adhere to college policies particularly during
invigilation of examinations and the administration should
ensure provision of enough spacing during examination. This
will contribute immensely towards enhancing academic
integrity among nursing students.