The explanation of practice: Why Chinese students copy assignments

Empirical research on copying and cheating in high school and university has typically employed quantitative survey methods. While these methods tell us about the conditions under which it is more and less likely to occur, they tell us less about the reasoning that leads students to copy the work of others. An alternative problem-based methodology (PBM) is presented which treats copying as a student'ssolution to the problem of how to complete an assignment, and investigates it by inquiry into the problem-solving processes that give rise to it. The methodology is employed in a study of copying among a small sample of Chinese university students. Intensive probing of their reasoning revealed the beliefs, motives and contextual conditions that led them to copy. Copying was a habitual strategy of both strong and weak students and was motivated by a wish to obtain the desired grade in the most efficient manner possible. The findings are discussed in terms of explanatory adequacy and implications for intervention.