Dinamika Ilmu - Vol. 21 No. 1, 2021 - Exploring Muslim Pre-Service Teachers’ Honesty on Cheating and Plagiarism

Oct 15, 2026

Cheating and plagiarism present persistent academic-integrity challenges for learners from high school through undergraduate study. This cross-sectional survey examines cheating and plagiarism practices among Muslim pre-service teachers in their bachelor program at an Islamic university in Indonesia, emphasizing the expectation of honesty as part of Islamic teacher identity. Results report high rates of behaviors aligned with integrity, while cultural influences also contribute to less ethical practices. Teaching implications are highlighted to help combat misconduct.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

A. Introduction

B. Research Methodology

C. Findings

1. Respondents’ Demographic Profile

DINAMIKA ILMU Vol. 21 No. 1, 2021 P-ISSN: 1411-3031; E-ISSN: 2442-9651 doi: [http://doi.org/10.21093/di.v21i1.3175](http://doi.org/10.21093/di.v21i1.3175) Exploring Muslim Pre-Service Teachers’ Honesty on Cheating and Plagiarism: A Survey in Indonesian Islamic University Rafika Rabba Farah Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang e-mail: [rafikafarah@gmail.com](rafikafarah@gmail.com) Abstract Cheating and plagiarism have been crucial issues among students studying either at high school or undergraduate levels. This present study aims to reveal the cheating and plagiarism practices among pre-service teachers in their undergraduate program at one Islamic university in Indonesia. As Muslim teacher candidates, the respondents are urged to uphold academic integrity and honesty. Thus, this study seeks to provide data on how serious the academic ethics immersed in Muslim pre-service teachers. The method implemented for this study was a cross-sectional survey. The respondents were students enrolled in the Faculty of Education, which comprises several departments in the education fields. Results indicate that respondents were recorded as having morally ethical on one aspect of academic integrities, 95% never paid someone else for the exam, 75% never changed answers after the marking process, and 50% declared rarely copy an answer. Yet, there was also a display of less ethical attitude on some other academic behaviors driven by cultural factors. Thus, some teaching implications are highlighted for teachers and students to combat cheating and plagiarism practices among pre-service teachers in Indonesian Islamic universities. Keywords: Cheating, plagiarism, academic ethics, pre-service teachers Dinamika Ilmu, Volume 21(1), 2021 139 Rafika Rabba Farah A. Introduction As Muslims, pre-service teachers are bound to uphold the Muslim traits that have been taught in their religion, mainly being honest in every condition he/she is. Academic integrity is one of the indicators that a Muslim can be defined as a good Muslim. However, cheating and plagiarism have been serious issues for higher education institutions across the globe. Some literature highlight that there are three main factors contributing to this issue which are related to the cultural context, institutional context, and individual choice (Hughes & McCabe, 2006) . In measuring the impact between culture and unethical conduct, research finding shows that individualist (Caucasians) has more tendency to plagiarism practices compared to the collectivists (Asians) (Martin, 2012) . Furthermore, culture is also captured as a contributing factor to plagiarism that students perceive more on cultural definition to gain personal success and also to gain race or group power (Heckler & Forde, 2015) . In that research, a student reveals that it is culturally legitimate tocheat in gaining personal success and that a student feels inferior if he/she is assumed as‘dumb’; thus, plagiarism is the instant way to do it. Responding to such issues, research on academic integrity has been widely explored worldwide. A study on students of Computer Sciences in King Saud University found that cheating and plagiarism are common among them. Meanwhile, they believe that such practices are unethical and against religious norms (Hosny & Fatima, 2014) . In a similar vein, factors that trigger higher education students in Canada to do academic misconduct are student maturity, students’ own definition of academic misconduct, poor understanding of policies and procedures, and a lack of knowledge on academic misconduct (Hughes & McCabe, 2006) . Similarly, pre-service teachers in Turkey are found to have a tendency to commit internet plagiarism that has time constraints, workload, and assignment level of difficulty become the key reasons to this tendency (Eret & Ok, 2014) . In the view of the previously mentioned research findings, the research settings are mainly conducted in developed countries w

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study on Muslim pre-service teachers?

To reveal cheating and plagiarism practices among Muslim pre-service teachers in their undergraduate program and assess how serious academic ethics are for them.

What research method is used to collect and analyze the data?

A cross-sectional survey uses a close-ended questionnaire for statistical analysis, and respondents’ reflective writing to verify qualitative answers.

What are the key findings related to academic integrity behaviors?

Most respondents reported integrity-aligned behaviors, such as never paying someone else for exams and rarely copying answers, but some unethical attitudes were also reported due to cultural factors.

Oct 15, 2026

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