Local Literature

According to Cruz (2020)This plagiarism does not involve just words. It also

contains ideas that imitate someone else's work without giving the author any credit

that it is (intellectual theft. It violates the "Thou shalt not steal" commandment),

which is considered a felony. If you copy the document, it is specified that you need

to mention the name of the author for the citation to prevent crime.

According to a 2010 report from the Josephson Institute of Ethics, plagiarism has

been on the rise in recent years. Of current college students, 75 percent agree that

exams, homework, and other assignments are plagiarized. Over the past year, 50%

have plagiarized on exams and, 34% have plagiarized on more than one examination.

The Internet was used to plagiarize an assignment by one out of every three students.

Similar patterns among college students and even graduate students are shown by

study.

Ressureccion (2012) cited a large number of studies conducted by Filipino

academics on academic integrity in the local context, most of which centered on

plagiarism in assignments and exams, more than half of which included higher

education students.

"Plagiarism is more widespread at the nation's colleges and universities than it

was years ago because it no longer carries the stigma it used to. Less social

disapproval and increased competition for spots in graduate schools have made

students more willing to do whatever it takes to get the grades," so says Professor

McCabe. "If a student feels disadvantaged because others are cheating and seeming to

get away with it, they'll say: I'm not stupid enough to blow my chances by not doing

the same." McCabe also comments that many schools stopped paying serious

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attention to cheating as they felt the need to focus more on problems such as campus

safety and substance abuse.

It should be stressed that the Presidential Decree No. 603 (1974) of the Philippines.

"The Philippines, otherwise known as the Child and Youth Welfare Act, provides that

"every child has the right to be brought up for the enrichment and strengthening of his

or her character in an environment of morality and rectitude,” and that, "Every child

has the right to live in a community and a society that can offer him an atmosphere...

conducive to the... cultivation of his desirable characteristics and attributes." It is so

important that students should be provided the necessary atmosphere in school for

their moral development given the enormous amount of time they spend on activities

related to school. If there is not enough information about how students grasp the

ethical basis of academic integrity and how such external influences stimulate them to

commit plagiarism within the academic context, this will prove to be a challenge.

Some parents believe that parents or guardians can be more effective as teachers

than, perhaps, the formal school system, according to DepEd Secretary Leonor

Briones. Studying at home can influence the level of academic achievement of

students, as they study at home comfortably and safely. The use of the internet for

study over the years and other academic purposes, has given birth to a great challenge

to the academic credibility of any educational institution. Some pupils resort to

plagiarism or commit it accidentally. It will encourage students to be good and ethical

individuals to teach the core values in school. Being an honest student will be a

stronger and more responsible employee in the future.

"They would reinforce the notion of the creation of principles. As I've always said,

whatever we are right now is the product of good schooling, the kind of pedagogy, the

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kind of development of values that we've had in the past 30 or 40 years. And if we do

it better, people would become more trustworthy, punctual, and disciplined.

DepEd Assistant Secretary TonisitoUmali, (2017).

Peer pressure is plagiarism's prime mover. If peers prefer academic dishonesty in

their peer group, then they are more likely to do the same cited by Sarita (2015). What

their peers do affects teenagers and, they shape their peer groups around common

interests. At this point in their lives, peer influence is at its peak. Secondly, a further

element in plagiarism is the home environment, which refers to the circumstances in

which people live. The old saying, "The most important job you do takes place within

your home's walls.  It is evident that not only in academics but also in values like

integrity, in particular, students learn many things at home. With parental pressure to

get good grades, academic dishonesty is more likely to occur. Taylor, et.al (2002).

The third factor is the learning styles of learners. Some learners are naturalistic, while

others are auditory and visual. Learning styles such as cognitive, affective, and

physiological behavior serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive,

communicate with, and respond to the learning process.

Academic overload relates to the feeling of students being dazed by their

academic requirements while pursuing a degree at institutions of higher education.

Academically overloaded students may feel that there is insufficient time to handle all

academic tasks, such as tests, examinations, research assignments, essays, and oral

presentations, effectively and sufficiently. The perceptions of students of the

requirements of academic tasks and the discernment of their ability to succeed in

completing the tasks affect the amount of effort they put into academic work, and

insufficient effort can lead to academic failure. It has been shown that problems with

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academic workload management harm academic adjustment to university and

academic performance Suhaimi&Hussin, (2017).

In the Philippine education system, the mandate of excellence, mastery and

integrity of learning knowledge and skills, intended for the proliferation of their

infinite potentials, which lie dormant if untouched by the graces of academic

instruction, must be faithfully followed by its participants, learners in particular. In

this sense, misconduct or undisciplined performances among the learners of this era of

the 21st century almost and, always frustrate this purpose today. Technological

advances have made it easier and more productive for McGregor & Stuebs (2012) to

cheat.

Baker, et al.(2008) "The process of how students cheat has been the subject of

extensive research." Not only for society, but also for higher education institutions

(HEls), students, and their families, academic failure is a great burden. CHED data

cited by Angara(2012) showed that enrollees in HEls reached 2.56 million from 2001

to the present, but the dropout rate reached an unprecedented 83.7 percent. This

means that the Philippines is producing 2.13 million college dropouts yearly while

only 500,000 students are graduating with their respective degrees.

Local Studies

In the study of Kwong et al. (2010), he found that students participate in

academic misconduct because of their workloads and time pressures, their desire to

achieve good grades, and unclear instructions from teachers about what constitutes

academic misconduct. (Ma, et al. 2006) Societal and technological factors that may

contribute to increased tendency towards cheating include: lack of awareness, peer

culture, lack of punishment, absence of risk and pressure to achieve.

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 (Razera et al., 2010) Classrooms that stresses high grades and test scores may

lead the learners to cheat. Situational factors also contribute to the students’ tendency

to cheat. For instance, some students find their work challenging or boring, fear

failure, lack training and may be pressured by insufficient time to study and heavy

workloads.

According to Cruz, R. et al. (2015), students from smaller size of family may

receive more time and attention from their parents, and students who are living

together with their families were well-supported morally on their studies by their

parents.

Not only the home environment that affects the educational status of the students,

but also, the students’ ability itself. Grades indicate how much you have learned or

how well you worked on studying. As stated by Pascua, J. B. et al. (2012), High

school grade point average is a significant factor that influences college academic

performances.

Students’ passing and good grades may show their determination with their

academic activities, and how much they want to achieve their goals. Aside from the

family, students also seek help from their friends when studying. Peer group has a big

role on students’ honesty and their academic achievement level.

Several studies have focused on identifying situational factors that are likely to

influence cheating. Among these researches single out the impact of peers on this

behaviour.

Resurrection (2012) said that, peers’ frequency of committing academic

misconduct proved to be highly significant determinant to students’ likelihood to

commit academic misconduct.

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 Based on Quintos (2016), the integrity of the academic community is at stake.

Academic dishonesty scandals that put the academic community in the middle of

controversies weaken the morale of the academe and destroy its reputation. This

causes the studies conducted by the academic community to lose their credibility in a

society that is already sceptical of the objectivity and veracity of scientists, thereby

making the educational institution’s purpose as a research-oriented institution aimed

at helping the community a very difficult endeavour to achieve. The results of studies

and undertakings committed by academically dishonest individuals could put

elements of society in serious peril.