The impact of sex, college, major, and student classificatin on students' perception of ethics.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2011
Abstract
Our previous study defined the concept of student ethics as a multidimensional construct described by the following five factors: (1) the impact of education and faculty/instructor on ethics; (2) students’ attitude towards cheating; (3) the use of information technology; (4) the importance of ethics; and (5) the ethical campus environment. A survey questionnaire was administered to all students in a 4-year, mid-size university, and 750 responses were received. In this current study, we continue with our research by conducting a more in-depth investigation of the students’ perception as impacted by their sex, college, major discipline of study, student classification, and the preferred method of punishment if they were caught cheating. Six null hypotheses were developed and tested. Our research resulted in several significant findings. First, students’ perception of ethics is influenced by their sex: male students were found to be less ethical than the female students. Further, among the three colleges on campus, business students tend to have the lowest ethical standards and therefore a higher tolerance for cheating than the non-business students. When the students’ attitude towards cheating was analyzed based on their major field of study, the results revealed that the English and modern language students are the most ethical respondents while the business students are the least ethical students on campus. With regard to the impact of education and faculty/instructor’s influence, the non-science students felt that education and their faculty plays a more important role in shaping their ethical beliefs than the science students. The upper-class students believe more strongly than the lower-class students that the use of information technology does increase cheating on coursework and that they hold a higher ethical standard for themselves. However, all students, regardless of their classification, believe that their faculty members play a very important role in educating them about ethics and that it is unethical to cheat on school work. If caught cheating, students who preferred to be disciplined by the university’s honor board tend to have a higher ethical standard than their peers who preferred to be disciplined by the course instructor. In our previous study, students unanimously agreed that education and faculty/instructors are major sources for their ethical values and beliefs; however, the results from this study revealed that family upbringing and personal experiences contribute more to their ethical beliefs than religion and education.
Recommended Citation
Haug, J. C., Lau, L. K. (2011). The impact of sex, college, major, and student classificatin on students' perception of ethics. Mustang Journal of Business and Ethics.
Original Citation
Haug, J. C., Lau, L. K. (2011). The impact of sex, college, major, and student classificatin on students' perception of ethics. Mustang Journal of Business and Ethics.
