Confronting Academic Dishonesty in the Accounting Classroom: A Cultural Experience?

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Confronting Academic Dishonesty in the Accounting Classroom: A Cultural Experience?

Brad Kerr

Bus 170

Feb. 14/06

During a masters program accounting class, the professor noticed a recent Asian immigrant attempting to cheat on the exam by leaning over and asking a student what she had for a certain question. He couldn't believe it, and nobody else seemed to notice it, as well, who would cheat in a masters accounting class.

The next day a phone call came in and confirmed his fears. It was also brought to his attention that she was getting up and looking at students answers when he left the room, as well as look through her textbook during the exam. The professor couldn't believe it, but had to hear her side of the story to give her the benefit of the doubt.

The professor quickly arranged a meeting with the student in question and she attended. The charges were brought up with her, and were quickly denied. She only had an explanation on why she would get up during exams, and that was to comfort the other students as it was a big part of her culture; to think about the group. The student's spouse then came to visit the professor in her defense. He backed up her argument about her culture being geared towards the group aspect and she was just acting in a manner in which she had been raised her whole life.

After doing some more investigation as well as questioning his own beliefs, the professor received a phone call from the spouse relaying a new piece of info. The student in question could no longer carry on in the program with this stigma attached to her.

Upon thinking about the situation in more detail, the professor was putting the differences in cultures into better perspective. He read a study that was about the differing viewpoints on academic honesty and the likeliness to cheat among different cultures. He then thought about ways and how professors and instructors alike could take proactive measures to limit this. Some things he named were, to make the institutions'

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