Plagiarism or Knowledge Synthesis? Ghanaian University Students’ Conceptions of Academic Writing

Plagiarism or Knowledge Synthesis? Ghanaian University Students’ Conceptions of Academic Writing

Emmanuel Kyei , Benedict Osei-Owusu , Elfrida B. R. Silalahi , Wilson Awiah Jujugenia , Clara Ofosua Frempong & Gershon Kofi Ladzekpo

Issue: Vol.6 No. 11 2025 Article 8 pp. 1156 – 1174
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.20256118 | Published online 25th November, 2025.
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

This study examines the conceptions of plagiarism, knowledge synthesis, and the ethical implications of using digital writing tools such as Grammarly, ChatGPT, and Turnitin by Ghanaian university students. Although existing scholarship largely emphasises plagiarism detection mechanisms, little research has considered students’ perspectives within Ghana’s unique cultural and linguistic context. Guided by Bakhtin’s (1981) notion of dialogism, the study highlights how students negotiate among their ideas, digital tools, and institutional expectations. Using semi-structured and open-ended questions, data were collected from 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students at a Ghanaian public university. The findings reveal that although 65.3% of the students reported a theoretical understanding of knowledge synthesis, many struggled with its practical application, especially when engaging with AI-generated content. Moreover, 65.9% did not consistently evaluate whether AI-assisted writing required citation, exposing misconceptions about authorship and originality. Digital tools were primarily used for surface-levels corrections (e.g., grammar checks via Grammarly) rather than for dialogic engagement with academic sources, fostering a reactive rather than reflective approach to writing. Institutional gaps such as ambiguous AI citation policies and training that focused more on tool operation than ethics exacerbated these challenges. The students proposed interventions that included mandatory ethics workshops (60%), improved access to instructional resources (30%), and curriculum-integrated academic integrity training (10%). The study underscores the tension between technological convenience and scholarly rigour. It advocates for localised citation guidelines, improved digital literacy, and reformed assessment strategies, contributing to global discourses on academic integrity while centering students’ lived experiences in digital writing environments.

Keywords: AI Citation, Academic Integrity, Ghanaian Higher Education, Knowledge Synthesis, Plagiarism

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AUTHOR(S)

Dr. Emmanuel Kyei is a Lecturer at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Mampong Campus, Ghana. His research interests include Applied Linguistics, discourse analysis, health communication, digital language use, pedagogical practice, and corpus linguistics. He is a member of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG). His scholarly work includes peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters, with recent studies examining digital language practices and multilingual classroom interactions in Ghana.

Professor Benedict Osei-Owusu is an Associate Professor of Educational Management and Policy Studies at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Ghana, and Director of the Institute for Teacher Professional Development and Lifelong Learning (ITPDLL). With over 31 years of teaching and administrative experience, he has contributed greatly to teacher education, policy, and institutional management. His research covers teacher professional development, school management, distance education, educational leadership, quality assurance, inclusive education, and student internship programmes. As a director at ITPDLL, he promotes teacher preparation, mentorship, and continuous professional growth, reinforcing his reputation as a leading advocate for quality teacher education in Ghana.

Elfrida B.R. Silalahi is a lecturer at Universitas Merdeka Malang, Indonesia, with research interests in English Education, Reading, Writing, and Linguistics. She is an active member of the English Lecturer Teacher Associations (ELTA) and has published several research works, which are accessible via Google Scholar and ResearchGate. She is engaged in higher education teaching and academic research and is currently married.

Wilson Awiah Jujugenia is a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Coast and is affiliated with the University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana. His research interests include Applied Linguistics, English education, discourse analysis, teacher feedback, and the pragmatics of language use in educational contexts. He has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications and remains actively engaged in advancing English language pedagogy in Ghana and beyond.

Dr. Clara Ofosua Frempong is a lecturer at Koforidua Technical University, Ghana, specializing in Applied Linguistics and English for Specific Purposes. Her research interests include English education, issues in education, language teacher education, the use of technology in language teacher education, teaching English as a second language, and applied linguistics. She is a member of the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) and the Linguistics Association of Ghana. She actively engages in research, teaching, and curriculum development within her fields of expertise.

Gershon Kofi Ladzekpo is a PhD candidate at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, and an English Language lecturer at Ada College of Education, Ada Foah, Ghana. His research interests include English Language, Literature-in-English, and Gender Studies. He is a member of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG). He is actively involved in teaching, curriculum development, and academic writing support. His ORCID iD is 0009-0007-0882-5559, and he can be contacted at gkladzekpo@adacoe.edu.gh or on 0204799733.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Kyei, Emmanuel, Benedict Osei-Owusu, Elfrida B. R. Silalahi, Wilson Awiah Jujugenia, Clara Ofosua Frempong, and Gershon Kofi Ladzekpo. “Plagiarism or Knowledge Synthesis? Ghanaian University Students’ Conceptions of Academic Writing.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 6, no. 11 (2025): 1156 – 1174. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.20256118.