Plagiarism: A Canadian Higher Education Case Study of Policy and Practice Gaps

Abstract

This mixed methods case study investigated faculty perspectives and practice around plagiarism in a Western Canadian faculty of education. Data sources included interviews, focus groups, and a survey. Findings showed that participants (N = 36) were disinclined to follow established procedures. Instead, they tended to deal with plagiarism in informal ways without reporting cases to administration, which resulted in a disconnect between policy and practice. The emotional impact of reporting plagiarism included frustration with the time required to document a case, and fear that reporting could have a negative effect on one’s employment. Recommendations include approaches that bridge the gap between policy and practice. Key words: Academic integrity, plagiarism, Canada, higher education, faculty Cette etude de cas a methodes mixtes s’est penchee sur les perspectives et les pratiques du corps professoral relatives au plagiat dans une faculte d’education dans l’ouest du Canada. Les sources de donnees ont inclus les entrevues, les groupes de discussion et un sondage. Les resultats indiquent que les participants (N=36) etaient peu portes a suivre les procedures etablies. Ils avaient plutot tendance a employer des moyens informels pour traiter le plagiat, sans signaler les cas a l’administration, ce qui entrainait un ecart entre la politique et la pratique. L’impact emotionnel decoulant du signalement du plagiat comprenait le temps necessaire a documenter un cas et la peur que le signalement puisse avoir une incidence negative sur son emploi. Les recommandations proposees incluent des approches visant a combler l’ecart entre la politique et la pratique. Mots cles : integrite academique, plagiat, Canada, enseignement superieur, faculte