Impact of students' solidarity on the maintenance of academic integrity

Abstract

Solidarity, as moral link and a commitment that unite the group, may be useful for understanding the phenomenon of academic integrity as well as academic misconduct. Based on the results of a research conducted in 2016 at one of Lithuanian university, this paper aims to reveal the manifestations of students’ solidarity and its impact on the maintenance of academic integrity. Empirical data have been gathered during 7 focus group discussions separately with the bachelor and master students (overall, 31 students), who represented different study programmes and study years. According to the results of the research, students perceive academic integrity as a significant academic characteristic, an important attribute of study quality that inter alia requires collaborative actions and shared values. However, solidarity has not only an important role in creating academic integrity, but also might be significant in cases of academic misconduct: cheating, unfairness in group work, etc. This paradox takes place, when students focus on their goals through measures that contradict academic community norms. The concept of solidarity also helped to reveal that some forms of academic misconduct appear as unintended consequences because of unity and collaboration in the student group, not due to the specific negative intentions. Moreover, the discussions also revealed that students put more emphasis on a lecturer’s role when ensuring atmosphere of integrity in the study process and assess own capability to influence behaviours of other as limited. Understanding the role of solidarity in the processes of academic integrity is significant for identification and creation the measures for strengthening academic integrity in academia.