Students’ self-efficacy on examination malpractices among undergraduate students in universities in Kiambu County, Kenya
Date
2022-10
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Mount Kenya University
Abstract
University examination malpractices in Kenya can be traced back to 1970, when the
first University was started by the government. Cases of university examination
malpractices have been rising despite many strategies employed by universities to
minimize them. Whenever new strategies are put in place, examination malpractices
decline is insignificant. Many studies have been done to determine the actual causes of
university students’ examination malpractices. The purpose of this study was to
investigate the possible role of students’ self-efficacy on examination malpractices
among undergraduate students in Universities within Kiambu County. The students’
Self-efficacy construct is made up of four components namely; students’ past
performance, students’ vicarious learning, students’ social persuasion and students’
emotional experiences. The objectives of this study were: to analyze students’ past
performance, to assess students’ vicarious learning, to analyze students’ social
persuasion and to examine students’ emotional experiences on examination
malpractices among undergraduate students. The study was guided by three theories
namely; Social Cognitive Learning theory, the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the
Theory of Neutralization. The study employed mixed methods approach. The research
designs used were descriptive survey and ex post facto survey. The target population
was all the 183,760 undergraduates’ students, lecturers and University administrators
from six Universities within the County of Kiambu. A private university, Q, and a
public university, P, were randomly selected for this study. 10 lecturers and 60 students
were selected from one private university and one public university for the purpose of
pre-testing the research instruments. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient from
the pilot data was 0.856, and therefore the reliability of the research instruments was
acceptable. The study ensured the validity of the instruments by consulting peers and
experts from the department of educational psychology, Mount Kenya University.
Dependability of qualitative data was ensured through adoption of mixed methodology
approach, pre-testing the instruments and carrying in-depth oral interviews. Credibility
of the research instruments was ensured by formulating research questions based on
research objectives and triangulating the data obtained. The quantitative data collected
from the research was analyzed using SPSS version 25. The research descriptive
statistics were presented inform of frequencies and percentages. The inferential statistics
used to test the formulated research hypothesis was linear regression. The linear
regression was presented in model summary tables, ANOVA tables and coefficient
tables. Content analysis method was employed to critically analyze qualitative data and
then presented in textual form. The results from the research revealed that students’ past
performance, students’ vicarious learning, students’ social persuasion and students’
emotional experiences significantly influenced examination malpractices among
undergraduate students in universities within Kiambu County. In summary, students’
self-efficacy significantly influences examination malpractices. To address the issue of
university examination malpractices among undergraduate students, students’ self efficacy
Description
Keywords
Undergraduate students, University examination malpractices, Self-efficacy