Are We Apathetic About Student Ethics?

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

30 Nov 2008 06:11 PM

A lot of our focus on ethics in education has to do with the environment for our students, what they are being taught, how they are being taught and who is teaching it to them. But how often do we focus on the ethics of the students themselves, before they even enter the classroom?

A new survey given to high school students says that 64 percent of high school students have cheated on a test. A whopping 30 percent have stolen from a store within the past year. The survey was conducted by Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute. They randomly selected 100 high schools and surveyed 29,760 students. Students were surveyed at both public and private high schools, and the anonymity of each student was preserved.

Other finding include the fact that 36 percent of the students admitted to using the Internet to plagiarize an assignment.

A full 93 percent of the students said that they were satisfied with their moral character.

This just begs the question as to why the survey results are the way that they are. Would numbers from a survey 20 years ago be any different? Do the students of today face too much pressure or extra activities that make it more difficult to complete assignments honestly? Why do the same students that admit to cheating and stealing think they they have a honest character?

I think that students first learn their morals from parents and then later from peers. If they believe that it is acceptable to cheat and to steal, then perhaps that is the feedback that they are getting. I'm sure the students are being discouraged from cheating at school, but are they being discouraged at home, too? Are parents allowing students to take short cuts to get ahead? Or are young people telling each other that everyone cheats and steals? What do you think?

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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