Investigate the Mediating Role of Attitudes to Cheating in the Relationship between Social Support and Educational Justice with Cheating Behavior

This research aimed to investigate the mediating role of attitudes to cheating in the relationship between social support and educational justice with cheating behavior.

Present study was cross-sectional from type of correlation. The research population was all high school female students of Tehran city in 2018-19 academic years with number of 120000 people. The sample size was calculated according to Cochranchr('39')s formula 400 people who were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. The research instruments were the questionnaires of attitudes to cheating (Fealy & et al, 2014), social support (Zimet & et al, 1988), educational justice (Golparvar, 2011) and cheating behavior (Newsted & et al, 1996). Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling method with using path analysis in Amos-23 software.

The findings showed that social support and educational justice had a negative and direct effect on attitudes to cheating and cheating behavior and attitudes to cheating had a positive and direct effect on cheating behavior. Also, social support and educational justice with mediating attitudes to cheating had a negative and indirect effect on cheating behavior (P<0.01). In addition, the model of mediating role of attitudes to cheating in the relationship between social support and educational justice with cheating behavior had a good fit.

Based on the results, to reduce cheating behavior can be developed and implemented through workshops programs to change in social support, educational justice and attitudes to cheating.