The association between perceived rule-oriented school ethical climate and university students’ unethical behavior

In recent years, the influence of school contexts on university students’ behaviour has become an important topic in educational research. As one of the key factors, the perception of a rule-oriented school ethical climate may play a role in shaping students’ values and behavioural tendencies. In particular, students’ unethical behaviour is considered to be closely associated with their perception of the school’s ethical climate, which makes it a topic worthy of further examination. This study aims to investigate the association between students’ perceptions of a rule-oriented school ethical climate and their unethical behaviour. A two-wave survey was conducted with a sample of 525 university students from three institutions in Henan Province, China. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires in class, including measures of rule-oriented school ethical climate and unethical behaviour. All descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and regression analyses were performed using SPSS software. Regression analyses revealed a significant association between students’ perceptions of a rule-oriented school ethical climate and their unethical behaviour. These findings are discussed in detail in the results section. Overall, the study underscores the importance of strengthening students’ perceptions of a rule-oriented school ethical climate for the well-being of the broader university community.