Causas del plagio académico en estudiantes universitarios de educación: percepción docente de una universidad dominicana.

Abstract

Plagiarism of academic papers among students is a very frequent problem in almost all educational levels. This action affects the acquisition of significant learning because it interrupts the deepest cognitive processes for the assimilation and accommodation of the contents. Therefore, it is important to investigate the main causes that motivate students to plagiarize in their assignments, to implement possible solutions. For this reason, the objective of this study was aimed at identifying, from the opinion of teachers, the main causes of plagiarism among higher education students. A methodology with a quantitative approach in a descriptive design was followed. The sample was intentional with 119 teachers with a degree in education from ​​a university in the Dominican Republic. An ad hoc instrument with two dimensions (teacher control mechanisms to detect and stop plagiarism and causes of plagiarism among students) was applied to this population in 32 questions and a Likert scale for assessing student’s skills to do academic work. The data obtained was treated in percentages of the absolute frequency. The results showed that academic plagiarism among university students has several causes. These data contradict the perception that students regularly plagiarize for convenience and the culture of ease. Among the main reasons for plagiarism are poor time management, inadequate study habits, the lack of an anti-plagiarism control system teachers, weakness in training to carry out academic work and the facilities offered by the Internet to copy information. It is concluded that plagiarism has multiple causes, and it is necessary to carry out time management activities and systematic training in educational centers to develop academic work; adhered to the norms of the consulted references.