Study of the reasons for and measures to avoid plagiarism in young students of education

Abstract

The Internet has become a source of information for most young people. It provides opportunities but also poses dangers for which they must acquire digital skills. This is the case for young students intending to become teachers who, in turn, will have to train other young people in these digital skills. The research focuses on students’ opinions on two issues relating to dishonest practices: a. the reason or reasons they and their fellow students plagiarize and, b. finding solutions to avoid academic plagiarism. The study analyzes data of 539 students from faculties of education of eight universities and two different countries (Portugal and Spain). A common model for young people has been found from validated instruments. There is a common pattern in the students of all the universities and countries studied, justified by three interrelated reasons to plagiarize: "internal" and "external" reasons to the students and the lack of motivation required for the task.