ACCLIMATIZATION TO PROFESSIONAL ETHICAL STANDARDS BY ACADEMIC STAFF IN NIGERIA’S TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v10i10.4987Keywords:
lecturers’ ethics, ethical issues, plagiarism in higher education, professional ethics, faculty ethical issuesAbstract
This article investigated the extent to which academic staff completes their course outlines before examinations; the state of harassment of students by academic staff; the rate at which examination questions are leaked to students by academic staff; the rate at which academic staff is involved in issues of plagiarism and the level of fair evaluation and non-discrimination of students by academic staff. The study used the descriptive (survey) research design. A total of 171 academic staff selected through convenience sampling participated in the study. The instrument used in this study was constructed by current researchers, which was content validated and it also yielded a reliability co-efficient of 0.81. Findings revealed that the majority of the lecturers in Nigerian tertiary institutions ensured that they complete their course outlines before final examinations, and are not found wanting in terms of harassing their students in any form. The study further revealed that the rate at which examination questions are leaked to students by academic staff remains very low. Based on the findings, it is therefore recommended that workshops on ethics be organized for academic staff that will be geared towards helping to bring to zero level incidence of unethical activities in tertiary institutions of learning in Nigeria.
Article visualizations:
References
Adekannbi, J. O. & Megwaonye, E. C. (2020). Academics’ attitudes to and use of institutional policy on Turnitin plagiarism detection software at Nigeria’s premier university. Journal of Information Science, Systems and Technology, 4(2), 1 -19
Akaranga, S. I. & Ongong, J. J. (2013). The phenomenon of examination malpractice: An example of Nairobi and Kenyatta Universities. Journal of Education and Practice,4(18), 1-11
Ali Al – Kraiti, H. H. & Mohamed, E. H. (2020). The crime of leaking test questions: A comparative study. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 11 (9), 1-15
Audi, R. (2015). The Cambridge dictionary of philosophy (3rd Ed). UK: Cambridge University Press.
Australian Government (2020). Rights of equality and non-discrimination. Retrieved from: https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/human-rights-and-anti-discrimination/human-rights-scrutiny/public-sector-guidance-sheets/rights-equality-and-non-discrimination
Bassey, B. A., & Owan, V. J. (2019). Ethical issues in educational research. In P. N. Ololube & G. U. Nwiyi (Eds.), Encyclopedia of institutional leadership, policy, and management: A handbook of research in honour of Professor Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele (Vol 2, pp. 1287–1301). Port Harcourt, NG: Pearl Publishers International Ltd.
Binder, R., Garcia, P., Johnson, B. & Fuentes-Afflick, E. (2018). Sexual harassment in medical schools: The challenge of covert retaliation as a barrier to reporting., Academic, 93(12) 1770-1773 doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002302
Brandee A. D. (2019). Blurring the line between free speech and harassment in schools. Peace Review, 31(1),34 -38, doi: 10.1080/10402659.2019.1613593
Borghi, J., Abrams, S., Lowenberg, D., Simms, S., & Chodacki, J. (2018). Support your data: A research data management guide for researchers. Research Ideas and Outcomes 4, e26439. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.4.e26439
Gillander G., K., & Stein, N. (2017). Do schools normalise sexual harassment? An analysis of a legal case regarding sexual harassment in a Swedish high school. Gender and Education, 1–18. doi:10.1080/09540253.2017.139629
Hitesh, B. (2020). What are professional ethics? Examples and Types. Retrieved from: https://www.marketing91.com/professional-ethics/
Iroegbu, E. E., & Uyanga, R. E., (2019) Teaching staff professional ethics and quality of educational output in Federal universities, South-South zone of Nigeria.American Journal of Educational Research,7(8), 548-560. doi:10.12691/education-7-8-4.
Maduabuchi D. (2017). Ethical issues in Nigeria’s higher education and governance. Retrieved from: https://guardian.ng/opinion/ethical-issues-in-nigerias-higher-education-and-governance/
Manjunath K. P. (2019). Crackdown on question paper leaks. The why and how of secure examination delivery. Retrieved from https://www.merittrac.com/blog/crackdown-question-paper-leaks-why-and-how-secure-examination-delivery
Mutegi, T. (2014). Factors affecting coverage of syllabus in secondary schools in Kenya: A case study of Langata district schools in Nairobi County. Unpublished thesis. Retrieved from: https://core.ac.uk/reader/45380870
My Accounting Course (2022). What are ethical standards? Retrieved from: https://www.myaccountingcourse.com/accounting-dictionary/ethical-standards
Noah, L. (2021). Ethics. Retrieved from: https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Philosophy/Introduction_to_PhilosophyReader_(Levin_et_al.)/05%3A_Ethics
Odigwe, F.N., Bassey, B.A.& Owan, V.J. (2020). Data management practices and educational research effectiveness of University Lecturers in South-South, Nigeria. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 10(3), 1-11
Owan, V. J., & Bassey, B. A. (2019). Data management practices in Educational Research. In N. P. Ololube & G. U. Nwiyi (Eds.), Encyclopedia of institutional leadership, policy, and management: A handbook of research in honour of ProfessorOzo-Mekuri Ndimele (vol 2, pp. 1251–1265). Port Harcourt, NG: Pearl Publishers International Ltd.
Owunwanne, D., Rustagi, N. & Dada, R. (2010). Students’ perceptions of cheating and plagiarism in higher institutions. Journal of College Teaching and Learning; 7(11), 59-68.
Targetjobs (2021). Lecturer (higher education): job description: What does a higher education lecturer do? Retrieved from: https://targetjobs.co.uk/lecturer-higher-education-job-description
Ting S. H., Musa, M. K. & Mah, F. S. (2014). Plagiarism norms and practices in coursework assignments. International Journal of Education, 6(1), 73-89
UNESCO (2021). Fairness (in assessment). Retrieved from: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/glossary-curriculum-terminology/f/fairness-assessment
Velma, J. A. & Vijay, N. (2018). A study on reasons for lack of commitment among school teachers in government schools in North Kancheepuram District. International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics. Retrieved from: https://acadpubl.eu/jsi/2018-118-7-9/articles/9/51.pdf
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).


