Academic Integrity in the New Normal Education: Perceptions of the Students and Instructors of Polytechnic College of Botolan

ABSTRACT :This study focused on the analysis of the perceptions of the students and instructors ofPolytechnic College of Botolan to determine how the new normal education affects academic integrity. Theresearcher used the descriptive correlational quantitative design by employing an online self-administeredquestionnaire via Google Forms among 30 instructors and 150 students who were selected using the purposivesampling techniquefrom SHS, TEP, and ICTP Departments. The data gathered were analyzed on the premise ofthe Neutralization theory by Sykes and Matza (1957) and were statistically treated using the Likert Scale,Weighted Mean, Frequency and Percentage Distribution, and Pearson (r). Results showed that the most commonacademic misconduct committed by students in the new normal education is plagiarism, followed by cheating inonline exams. In terms of neutralization strategy, students commonly used denial of responsibility to justify theirmisbehavior. Furthermore, findings revealed that there is a significant moderate positive correlation between theperceived academic misconduct and their justifications indicating that the new normal education negativelyaffects the academic integrity of the students. The results of this study were used as a basis for crafting anintervention plan to address the issue of misconduct in the academe.

KEYWORDS : Academic integrity, academic misconduct, neutralization theory, new normal education