This chapter explores divergent views about plagiarism within the context of the internationalization of higher education and reports on a recent investigation of perceptions of plagiarism among Vietnamese and local doctoral students at a New Zealand university. Findings revealed that all the doctoral participants possessed substantial understanding of plagiarism, and their professional experiences as lecturers and tutors were a significant influence on their perspectives. While considering intentional plagiarism as a moral issue, a form of academic cheating, and a scholarly offence, they viewed unintentional plagiarism as a developmental and intercultural issue. Compared to their Vietnamese peers, New Zealand doctoral students had more academic publication experience and showed deeper awareness of scholarly impacts of plagiarism. The chapter concludes with recommendations that doctoral supervisors engage with individual students to learn about each one's background, understandings, and needs, so that they can better support doctoral students' apprenticeship into the scholarly community.
TopIntroduction
Internationalization of higher education has become a contemporary global trend. Over 5.6 million students studied outside their home countries in 2020 (Institute of International Education, 2020). For many, this means studying in their non-native language, because they are from countries such as China, India, and South Korea, where English is a second, third, or foreign language (Institute of International Education, 2020). The USA was the top host destination in 2020, hosting 1,075,496 international students. Other top destination countries are the United Kingdom hosting 551,495 students, Canada hosting 503,270 students, and Australia hosting 463,643 students. New Zealand is a popular host destination with 52,995 students commencing their studies in 2020.
Internationalization of higher education brings advantages to both international students and host countries’ universities and students (Marshall, 2019). High-quality education, globally recognized qualifications, increased employability, and academic and language skill development are common benefits for international students (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002). For local and international students, international education offers valuable resources to enhance their intercultural competencies, interpersonal skills, and international connections (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002). In 2018, prior to the significant disruption caused by COVID-19, international education was New Zealand’s fifth-largest export industry, adding $5.1 billion to the economy while also contributing culturally, socially, and educationally (Education New Zealand, 2019).
Despite offering many positive aspects, internationalization of higher education poses substantial challenges to higher education institutions, including plagiarism management, because of students’ diverse cultural, educational, and linguistic backgrounds. Cultural beliefs and values may influence students’ attitudes towards plagiarism and textual ownership (Fatemi & Saito, 2020; Pecorari, 2013). Educational backgrounds (e.g., approaches to teaching and learning, prior plagiarism education, and assessment practices experienced) may impact student knowledge, expectations, and experience of plagiarism as an issue (Amsberry, 2009; Fatemi & Saito, 2020; Marshall & Garry, 2006; Schmitt, 2005). Writing from sources is demanding for students developing English skills with limited academic writing experience (Schmitt, 2005). Non-English-speaking-background (NESB) students’ writing practices may be incompatible with Western intellectual property and scholarly norms (Marshall & Garry, 2006; Pecorari, 2008). Thus, for international students, navigating academic writing expectations within their host country can be tricky business.
Understanding student perceptions of plagiarism and academic integrity is essential to the effective management of the issues and development of instructional materials because perceptions may be linked to actual decision-making. Student attitudes towards source use and their roles as academic writers are related to their subsequent behaviours (Babaii & Nejadghanbar, 2017). Those with more positive attitudes towards plagiarism were more likely to plagiarize whereas the likelihood of plagiarizing decreased as student awareness and perceived seriousness of plagiarism increased (Pàmies et al., 2020; Selemani et al., 2018).