Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty or ‘blind spot’ of multicultural education? - [Inferred Article]

Oct 15, 2026

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The paper examines plagiarism in Australian universities by interviewing international postgraduate students to uncover their perceptions, views, and attitudes toward academic dishonesty. It links the problem to multicultural educational contexts, language and skill challenges, and differing cultural notions of ownership of text. Evidence from Australian media investigations highlights rising counts of plagiarism, while university integrity initiatives aim to strengthen academic writing and detection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature review

A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty or ‘blind spot’ of multicultural education? Helen Song-Turner University of Ballarat One of the issues facing universities operating in a range of market situations and contexts is that of plagiarism. Different universities have taken different approaches in dealing with this issue. In an Australian university context, this issue is of particular concern, given the large numbers of overseas students studying in Australia, and offshore in Australian administered programmes such as in China and India. It is also an issue in a climate where students increasingly see themselves as consumers with increased rights, power, status and legal standing (Onsman, 2008) . Students from a number of countries were interviewed for this paper, to identify their own views about plagiarism. The study found that there were several reasons why students tended to plagiarise and these included challenges of language, skill and respect for ‘the foreign expert’. What emerges from this paper is a complex and at times confusing web of perceptions and attitudes towards plagiarism. These pose a significant set of challenges for foreign universities developing and delivering programmes ina range of markets, particularly in locations such as Australia, where the importance and value of attracting, supporting – and, indeed, understanding-foreign students, has tended to underpin many university marketing efforts. Introduction Concerns about plagiarism are on the increase within many areas of the global university system, especially in the context of the increasing number of international students that now form a key aspect of so many university programmes. Figures obtained from an investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald (Alexander, 2006) reveal something of the extent of the growing problem in Australia. For example, the University of Technology, Sydney recorded 362 counts of plagiarism in 2005, while the University of Wollongong recorded 134. It is estimated almost 3500 students have been caught plagiarising or cheating across eight Austral- ian universities since 2001. Another article entitled‘Plagiarism rises amid founding cuts’, in the Sydney Morning Herald (Susskind, 2006), indicated that the problem of plagiarism was exacerbated by the overseas student influx. Plagiarism may not, of course, be limited to international students: an Australian study suggests that more than 8 per cent of students have been found to pilfer large amounts of text from the web (Buckell, 2002), but according to the accusers, it does appear to be more evident among international students. Recently several initiatives have been introduced by universities in Australia and elsewhere to strengthen academic integrity, including compiling more strin- vol. 50, no. 2, 2008 Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty or ‘blind spot’of multicultural education?, Helen Song-Turner 39 A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W gent academic writing guidelines, instituting plagiarism detection software, undertaking additional staff teaching programmes and so on. However, it could be argued that the reason behind student plagiarism, particularly those from countries such as India or China,still remains somewhat misunderstood, and even quite opaque. However, some academics have raised concerns and questions over the Western notion and definition of what constitutes plagiarism. For example, Pennycook (1996) writes that the notion of‘ownership of text’ is a particularly Western concept. He points out that plagiarism cannot be viewed as a black and white issue, but that it is a far more complex phenomenon related to the relationship between text, memory and learning. Scollon (1995, p23) also states that ‘the concept of plagiarism is fully embedded within a social, political, and cultural matrix that cannot be meaningfully separated from its interpretation.’ To date there has bee

FAQs

Why does plagiarism present particular challenges in Australian universities?

The study emphasizes overseas students in Australia and offshore programmes, alongside increasing student consumer attitudes and differing expectations about text use. Language, skill, and respect for “the foreign expert” are identified as contributing factors.

How is plagiarism defined in Western contexts according to the paper?

The Oxford Dictionary of English defines plagiarism as taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own. The paper also notes that Western notions of text ownership may not align with other cultural interpretations.

What does the paper aim to find out about international students’ views?

It aims to identify international students’ perceptions, views, and attitudes about the concept’s meaning and applicability in a Western university educational setting. Students from varied backgrounds in Australian postgraduate programmes were interviewed for this purpose.

Oct 15, 2026

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