Contract Cheating ‘Pseudepigraphy’. A Cardinal Sin in Higher Education? A Phenomenological Narrative of Andragogical Experiences, Insights and Reflections
Reuben Agbelengor Glover 
, Cyril Senyo Kpodo & Selasi Awusi Sosu
Issue: Vol.5 No.16 Issue Article 36 pp.3140-3156
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451636 | Published online 24th December, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) study is a reflection on valuable insights gained by the authors in supervising graduate students’ theses, dissertations, and project works/reports, active participation in seminars on ethics in higher education and first-hand andragogical teaching experiences in the Ghanaian setting. The study explored contract cheating among graduate students and strategic interventions used by faculty to address it. Using an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) in a qualitative narrative paradigm, the study discussed the critical causal factors, strategic interventions, andragogy, heutagogy, support mechanisms and software employed to mitigate graduate students’ indulgence in contract cheating in their final year thesis, dissertations, and project works/reports. Findings revealed that contract cheating among graduate students is influenced by personal, contextual, cultural, situational, institutional, and technological factors, as well as a misconception of widespread participation in higher education. The study recommends a paradigmatic shift away from the punitive and toward the developmental approach when responding to contract cheating. The study contributes new insights to enrich the ongoing scholarly conversation on contract cheating and interventions in Ghanaian universities.
Keywords: Contract Cheating, Pseudepigraphy, Essay Mills, Academic Integrity, Andragogy
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Reuben Agbelengor Glover is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Publishing Studies at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He was a sabbatical lecturer at the Department of Art Education, School of Creative Arts, University of Education, Winneba (UEW) from 2013-2015. He holds an LLB in Law, BL (Professional Law) and an MFA from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana and Ghana School of Law, Accra. His research interests include intellectual property law, ethics in Higher education, visual culture, cultural policy studies, design, and illustration.
Cyril Senyo Kpodo is a senior lecturer and Head, Department of Art Education, School of Creative Arts, University of Education Winneba (UEW). He is an experienced practising artist/art educator with a demonstrated history of working and researching in the creative art industry. His research interests include art history, studio practice and research in sculpture, human development through Art, creative arts entrepreneurship, child growth and development, and art in public space. He holds a PhD in Sculpture, a Master of Fine Arts – MFA, Sculpture, a Bachelor of Art-BA Sculpture, and a Diploma in Rural Art and Industry/Studio Arts from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He is also a certified teacher with Teachers Certificate ‘A’ from Seventh Day Adventist College of Education (SEDACOE), Asokore-Koforidua, Ghana.
Selasi Awusi Sosu is a senior lecturer, an international artist and art educator at the Department of Art Education, School of Creative Arts, University of Education Winneba (UEW). She has been exploring the medium glass and its aesthetics through photography/videography, sound, and installation as part of her PhD research work, which has been exhibited in Ghana and abroad. Her interest in imaging, exploring visual culture, collaboration and education led her to pioneer the ongoing collaboration exploring visual cultures between three departments at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), the Academy of Fine Art, the Ludwig Maximillian University, Munich, and other international partners.
Glover, Reuben Agbelengor, Cyril Senyo Kpodo and Selasi Awusi Sosu. “Contract Cheating ‘Pseudepigraphy’. A Cardinal Sin in Higher Education? A Phenomenological Narrative of Andragogical Experiences, Insights and Reflections,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.16 (2024): 3140-3156. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451636
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
