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The Underlying Causes of Cheating Among MLBCSI High School Learners

Geneviev Mae P. Nerves

Athena Grace L. Gilboy
Aaron Paul Oronce
Marc Dean Apas

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank God, first of all, for making our action research
possible. To our English Teacher, Ms. Katherine Piezas, who guided us
along the way. Also, we would like to thank Mrs. Daphne Lagahit for
giving us her time to talk and discuss our research. To those who
answered our surveys, thank you so much for being honest and open.

Table of Contents

I.

II.
III.

IV.
V.

Introduction
a. Statement of the Problem
b. Definition of Terms
c. Background of the Study
d. Significance of the Study
Review of the Related Literature
Analysis Approach
a. Methodology
i. Data Collection Procedures
ii. Planned Analysis
b. Scope and Limitation
c. Objectives
Results and Discussion
Conclusions and Recommendation

page 4
page 5
page 6
page 7
page 8
page 9
page 11
page 12
page 14
page 15
page 16
page 17
page 18

Bibliography

page 19

Appendices

page 20

Chapter 1

Introduction

Students go to school to gain knowledge, develop values, and

learn regarding the society. However, todays generation diminishes
the idea that school is a place for the students to learn. The mindset of
students nowadays is they go to school just because they want to
graduate in order to have a decent job in the future. This causes the
students to gain pressure in getting good grades. The most common

way is to study hard and listen to the teachers discussion, yet some
discovered a risky way Cheating.

Statement of the problem

To find out the real cause of cheating, the researchers aim to answer
several questions;
1. What

are

the

reasons

why

student

copy

from

their

classmates?
2. What are the different ways of cheating done by the students?
3. How do the teachers and the administration react with this
action?
4. What are the ways that the teachers must do to avoid
cheating?

Definition of terms

Cheating - act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage,

especially in a game or examination.
Strategy - a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or
overall aim.
Survival Skill - techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation
like natural disasters to save themselves and others.

Studying - application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as

by reading, investigation, or reflection: long hours of study.

Background of the study

The researchers have observed that in this generation, the

students are using method such as cheating to pass the subject. The
researchers chose the topic for the reason that this is an issue that
should be given more attention or should be taken seriously. The future

of the student is at stake and can affect the mindset of the following
generation.
The thought of the student that cheating will be a way to aim
excellence may lead them in the wrong road. It may encourage their
fellow students to do the same. The researchers are concerned and
would like to know what the reasons behind their action are and how to
help them.

Significance of the study

Cheating is a never-ending issue amongst all schools and today, this

became out of hand. Our research will provide answers regarding the

effects and causes of this so-called strategy that students do in order

to survive.
To the Students: They will understand what really cheating is and help
them cope regarding this action.
To the teachers: On our research, we can help the teachers prevent
cheating by letting them know what causes their students to cheat.
To the parents: In order to discipline their child, they should be aware
on what their son/daughter does in school and how does this affect
them.

Chapter 2

Review of the related literature

Students might not understand or may have different models of

what is considered appropriate help or collaboration. While most of the
students might blame their behavior on unfair test and professors,
some students might feel an obligation to help other students succeed
on their exams. (Melon)
Students who cheat might have poor study skills that prevent
them from keeping up with the material. It also might be because of
the competition with the other students for their grades. They tolerate
cheating because they might perceive a lack of consequences for
cheating and plagiarizing and the possibility of cheating without being
caught is surprisingly high.
Among all the cases, many students are highly motivated by
grades and might not see a relationship between learning and grades.
According to the MLBCSI Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Daphne
Lagahit, the reason why cheating creates a network among the
students is for comfort, friendship and sympathy among the others.
Cheating is not an excuse. It started as a simple but continuous matter,
creating the domino effect. It will affect the other students who
decline or was obliged to cheat.
The most important thing you can do if you find your child
cheating is to act immediately. Its important that a child find out right
away that he/she has not gotten away with anything.

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Chapter 3

Analysis Approach

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Methodology

To conduct the research, we have followed these steps in order to

determine and answer our questions:
First, we have an extensive research to the rules of Matilda L. Bradford
Christian School Inc. regarding of cheating and if it was applied by the
faculty and administration.
We asked four people (guidance counselor, school chaplain, teacher,
and parent) that have considerable relationship to the students our
questions and to know their insights.
We compared their answers whether they all have similar or different
ideas.
We have also conducted a survey among the student of MLBCS High
school department that they should answer honestly. After that, we
have asked their opinions about cheating.
Data Collection Procedure

Table 1
Question
How often do you
cheat?

Always
8

If needed
33

Never
4

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*do not answer table 2 and 3 if you checked never

Table 2
Statement
Cheating
because you
didnt study
You cheated
because others
were doing so
You just heard
the answer
whispered to
you.
Cheated to have
good grades

Strongly

Agree

Strongly

Disagree

Agree
32

Disagree
0

27

14

19

12

39

Table 3
Methods of Cheating
Use of kodigo
Texting the answers through
cellular phones
Passing of answers to classmates
Opening of books and notes
during exams
Using secret codes
*please check two boxes

No. Of Students
31
13
20
10
7

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Planned Analysis

This chapter presents and analyzes data that answer the subsidiary
problems of the study. We surveyed 45 students with our questionnaire
(see page 12).
Table 1 showed that out of 45 students, only 4 of them do not practice
cheating. We have excluded them from the rest of the questions
because of their inability to cheat. 7 of them admitted that they cheat
on daily basis and 33 out of 45 students cheat when in dire need or
situation.

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Table 2 reveals that students cheat to have better grades, and the
second reason is that most students didnt study leading them to
cheat. 27 out of 41 strongly agreed that they have cheated because
others were doing so. None of the students disagreed on these
statements. The students have different response on the third
statements. 28 students agreed that they have cheated because they
heard the answers, while 13 of the disagreed with this reason.
For the table 3, we have asked the students to check two boxes as to
what methods they use when they cheat. Number one of which is the
use of kodigo or little notes they hide. Second is passing of answers
to classmates. Third is using cellular phones to text their answers to
their fellow classmates, which is followed by opening of books and
notes during exams. The rarely used method is the use of secret codes.

Scope and Limitation

Like every researchers, we have also experience difficulties and

encountered barriers in our researcher. One of which is the lack of
monetary support. This hinders our further research since we needed
materials and our budget is very limited. Aside from that, the lack of
time is another problem of ours.

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Another limitation of our research is that the learners dont want

to participate in our surveys or activities. We had the trouble in making
surveys among the students. We researchers dont know whether they
are giving the genuine facts. Still, we have gathered enough research
material.

Objectives

The goal of our research is to help the teachers, administration, and

school to reduce the actions of cheating in the school and to promote
honesty and a fair share of knowledge to the students. Our research

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will hopefully be an eye-opener to the school that cheating will always

be present in the school not unless we take action and reduce the
cases of cheating, thus giving the students fair grades.

Chapter 4

Result and Discussion

Based on our research, cheating, for students, is their technique to

pass on exams and thus having good grades, enabling them to

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graduate. Theres this Survival of the fittest phrase present in the

classroom and a battlefield for other students. This is the reason why
most of the students cheat.
However, this does not mean that cheating is acceptable; it is still
punishable based on the school rules, if it is strictly applied. Teachers
should be aware that there students are not learning, but they are only
copying just to pass on the exams. There are also students who rely
solely on studying and dont cheat, which makes it unfair for them if
they have low scores than those who cheat.

Chapter 5

Conclusions and Recommendations

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We, researchers, conclude that cheating is becoming widely used by

the students of Matilda L. Bradford Christian School. However, there
are some ways to stop and resolve cheating. One of which is the
teachers should be strict on test. The students must also be aware
about the rules of the school. The school should function their rules to
let the student know that it is not allowed to cheat in school.

We recommend our research to the teachers of Matilda L. Bradford

Christian School, to make them aware that their students are not fully
learning on their lessons they teach. This is also for the parents, to let
them be aware on their childs excellent academic performance but
very poor moral character. We are also glad to lend our research a
reference for the future researchers.

Bibliography

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To why some students cheat. Carnegie Mellon University. 2013. Web.

13 January 2015
Reasons Student Cheat. Point Loma Nazarene University. 2010. Web.
13 January 2015
Bilich, Karen. When Your Child Cheats. Parents, 2010. Web. 13 January
2015

Appendices

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Question
How often do you

Always

If needed

Never

cheat?
*do not answer table 2 and 3 if you checked never
Statement

Strongly

Agree

Agree

Strongly

Disagree

Disagree

Cheating
because you
didnt study
You cheated
because others
were doing so
You just heard
the answer
whispered to
you.
Cheated to have
good grades

Methods of Cheating
Use of kodigo
Texting the answers through
cellular phones
Passing of answers to classmates
Opening of books and notes
during exams
Using secret codes
*please check two boxes

No. Of Students

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