ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND PREVALENCE OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AMONG PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE ROLE OF PERSONAL VALUES

Academic dishonesty is a prevalent, intricate global concern that has serious, long-lasting effects on academic achievement. Examining the relationship between the academic dishonesty of pre-university students and the values they hold is one of the objectives of this endeavor. The researchers additionally aim to ascertain if these correlations may be substantially influenced by variables including gender, educational streams, institution type, and academic grades. A descriptive survey approach using the Simple Random Sampling Technique was used with the sample of 270 pre-university students. The standardized questionnaires were used for data collection. Before proceeding to parametric tests assuming H01, the normality test was performed. For levels, relationships, and differences in personal values and academic dishonesty, descriptive, correlational, and inferential statistics were used. The findings showed a moderately negative correlation between the predictive variables and were statistically significant at the 0.05 level (r = - 0.127, p<0.05). Analysis of variance revealed that the mean ranks of the two groups differ significantly, and there exists a significant difference in the personal values and academic dishonesty of pre-university students concerning their educational stream, the nature of the institution, and the grades of students. Concerning gender, the test revealed that the ranks of the two groups (male and female) do not differ significantly. It is equally proved that low personal values are more susceptible to academic dishonesty. As the levels of personal values increase, the prevalence of academic dishonesty decreases. More precisely, unethical behavior is connected with self-enhancement values and negatively with self-transcendence and decreased personal values. These findings provide yet another reason to investigate the origins of today's academic dishonesty epidemic in human values.