Cheating: Cause and Effect - Essay on Education

Cheating is the act of removing oneself from a situation that is not pleasant through unfair means. It is one of the most significant concerns in most educational institutions worldwide. There are various ways of how students cheat. Some examples include peeking on another student's exam paper, copying of assignments or even plagiarism. Most institutions condemn this behavior since it has a lot of adverse effects both in the present and in the future.

The adverse effects caused by cheating students is reflected in their future jobs because such individuals cannot rely on themselves. They look for the most comfortable way out, and that can be a problem especially when they are assigned specific tasks. They will be unable to complete their tasks since they did not learn the necessary skills and knowledge of performing their work.

Various studies have come up with many different reasons as to why some students cheat. From all these different reasons, three of them are considered to be the most common. One of them is an open opportunity; the second is pressure from outside and third laziness. Out of the three reasons the one that tops the list is laziness.

Most of the students who are caught cheating are lazy in doing their studies. These type of students do not attend their classes, complete assignments by themselves or merely refuse to study all the same. The lack of attendance makes the student miss out on important issues and coursework, and this causes them not to catch up with their studies. As a result, the students are inclined to cheat.

The second reason for cheating is pressure from outside. External forces can be either non-academic or academic. Academic influence emanates from the subject being too difficult for the student to handle or there are too many things the students need to cover for one test. This pressure stresses out the student, and they are unable to concentrate on studies, making them cheat.

Non-academic pressure, on the other hand, comes outside influences. For example high expectations from parents or additional stress-related issues. High expectations from parents may make the student lose focus on studies. The reason for this is they are most afraid of disappointing their parents or even having too many expectations on oneself. Which disrupts the student's learning process, and they may end up cheating in their exams.

The final reason as to why students cheat is an opportunity. If there are no strict rules and regulations governing exam settings, for example allowing students to enter exam rooms with phones or text books, may lead to cheating. Some institutions are very lenient when it comes to examination rules, and this may encourage the students to cheat.

Cheating has many adverse effects on students. One is the lack of responsibility by the students (Earl 10). If a student cheats in an exam and gets away with it, they feel that there is no need for them to study or even attend classes. All they have to do to pass is cheat. It makes them lose a sense of responsibility since they can get away with anything.

The other effect comes when the students finish their studies and get employed based on their grades. The employer will assume that the student has the right knowledge, skills, and competence to perform their work. But in reality, the student may not have a clue as to how to complete their job, and this may lead to their termination. Another possible effect is the loss of creativity. Studying enhances student's creativity. If the student does not study, he will not be innovative or creative enough for future endeavors.

References

Earl, K. (2002, 10 25). The really big list of education quotes & links Earl, K. (2002). http://drwilliampmartin.tripod.com/bigedlist.htm . Accessed 30th October 2017