Cheating and copying are quite frequent at schools. Despite all of the teachers’ efforts, students use various methods to cheat and it’s difficult to root out

The reasons with which students justify cheating are different. 

• They don’t see cheating as something serious.
• They justify cheating by explaining it as a team effort.
• They view the materials they learn as boring, useless and too demanding.
• They don’t see a point in learning.
• They are overwhelmed with a large amount of information they are supposed to remember.
• They are not motivated to learn.
• They are learning for a mark that can easily be attained through cheating or copying.
• They don’t pay attention to lessons.
• They don’t see the value of learning and knowledge in society.
• Everyone else is doing it too and they don’t get caught.
• They don’t think a particular subject is important.
• They can’t find the time to learn.
• The expectations of their parents are too high.

Start with the reason that students most often cite in order to justify their cheating and try to motivate them not to do that again. Here are a couple of suggestions to motivate students not to copy or cheat:

• The knowledge they receive at school is useful and in fact necessary, no matter how much it doesn’t seem like it. If they don’t acquire it now, they will have to invest their time in it later on.
• They will need the knowledge they acquire now at work in order to successfully complete their work assignments. They will also need it in life in order to successfully overcome the challenges that lie ahead.

Tests and assessments are there to evaluate their knowledge at a given time and if students cheat or copy, they will not receive realistic feedback from the teacher on their knowledge so that they will not be able to advance in learning.

• Tests and assessments are there to evaluate their knowledge at a given time and if students cheat or copy, they will not receive realistic feedback from the teacher on their knowledge so that they will not be able to advance in learning.
• When they achieve something by putting effort into it, they will feel more confident and accomplished.
• If they were an employer and if they found out that the candidate they are interviewing cheated and copied while at school, would they really hire them?