Academic Dishonesty and Online Classes: A Rural Education Perspective

Rural Special Education Quarterly, Winter 2007/Spring 2008 by Sileo, Jane M, Sileo, Thomas W

Abstract

Rural educators must possess high standards of ethical behavior that inform professional practice and improve the communities in which they live and work. The purposes of this article are to discuss rural education and its intersection with online classes as vehicles to meet residents' educational needs; ethical issues that surround online class delivery; and suggestions to deter academic dishonesty in online classes. Key Words: rural education, distance education, academic dishonesty, academic integrity, cheating, ethics, instructional practices, Internet, online instruction, student behaviors/attitude, teacher preparation, World Wide Web.

Residents in rural America experience numerous rewards associated with the splendor of living in lush greenbelts and rolling hillsides, as well as desert, mountain, plains, tundra, and glacial regions of the country. Living in these locales often affords feelings of privacy, kinship, and community spirit that contribute to simpler, healthier life styles. However, life in rural areas also presents concomitant challenges connected to geographic isolation, social disconnection, and potential lack of amenities that enhance people's everyday lives.

A major challenge of living in rural and remote communities concerns the ability to access secondary and post secondary education. Until recently, many rural residents were forced to relocate to urban and suburban areas that afford these opportunities. However, the advent of distance education models and influx of technological innovations alleviate the issue. Increasingly, secondary and postsecondary students are taking advantage of distance learning classes across all academic fields. Many preservice and inservice teachers in rural settings also capitalize on online professional development opportunities.

Distance education benefits considerable numbers of students, who access online classes from myriad, disparate settings. Yet, there are disadvantages, which contribute to students' isolation, anonymity, and propensity toward academic dishonesty (Carnevale, 1999). The purposes of this article are to (a) highlight rural education issues that underscore a need for distance education, (b) discuss ethical concerns and practices that affect online classes, (c) suggest strategies to alleviate academic dishonesty in online classes, and (d) address the intersection between rural education and online classes.

Rural Education

The Rural School and Community Trust (2005) estimates that 30.3% of public schools nationwide are located in rural areas and enroll 19.1% of public school students (N = 8,797,497), of whom 8.7% attend small schools. Many issues that confront education in the United States tend to be magnified in small, rural and remote settings. The experience of teaching in these schools poses significant challenges as well as opportunities for educators. The physical grandeur of the landscape, cultural richness of communities, opportunities for meaningful parent, family, and community involvement in education, and personalized atmosphere of small schools contribute to teachers' job satisfaction.

Challenges often relate to geographic distances, where communities may be accessible only by water, unimproved roads, or small aircraft. Moreover, many regions lack electricity, running water, sewage systems, and retail shopping conveniences. Thus, teachers who migrate to these settings typically are unprepared for the challenges of rural schools and rigors of small town and village life. Geographic characteristics create limited access to higher education, and physical and professional isolation that may affect teachers' morale, competency, and job longevity (Sealander, Eigenberger, Peterson, Shellady, & Prater, 2001). Educators seldom remain in these settings more than two years. Many school districts experience greater than usual turnover among teachers and administrators. This, in turn, contributes to ongoing shortages of teachers, in general, but particularly in the fields of special education, mathematics, and science. Williams, Martin, and Hess (2002) state that teacher turnover in some rural areas may be as high as 100% every three years. In addition, the National Center for Education Statistics (2006) indicates that rural schools incur difficulty filling 33.1% of special education, 28.8% of mathematics, 21% of biology, and 29.7% of physics teaching positions. Teacher shortages create a number of problems. First, teachers may not be highly qualified in the subjects they teach, which places school districts at risk of violating provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 as well as legal actions. In addition, teachers may not make curricular accommodations to address the needs of students with disabilities. Moreover, highly qualified, licensed teachers who serve as on-site mentors face additional stress in their professional lives.

A second challenge concerns a potential mismatch between local populations and teachers who do not represent students' socioeconomic levels and their racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage (Tyler, Cantou-Clarke, Easterling, & Klepper, 2003). An estimated 11.8% of families with school-age children in rural areas live below the federal poverty level, 37.4% of students are eligible for subsidized school meals, and 35.5% of families are female-headed households with preschool-age children (The Rural School and Community Trust, 2005).