REFRAMING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN THE DIGITAL ERA: THE INTERPLAY OF ETHICS, LEARNING HABITS, AND PERCEIVED DETECTION RISK

The rapid digitalisation of higher education has transformed how students learn, simultaneously expanding opportunities for academic dishonesty, particularly through AI-assisted tools, online assessments, and technology-enabled collaboration. This study investigates the determinants of academic dishonesty by examining the roles of ethical perception, digital learning habits, and perceived detection risk, as well as the moderating influence of opportunistic behaviour on these relationships. Using data from 160 university students across Indonesia, the Philippines, Ghana, India, Kenya, Poland, and Thailand, this study employed Structural Equation Modelling (SEM-PLS) to analyse the direct and moderating effects within the proposed framework. The results show that ethical perception and perceived detection risk significantly reduce academic dishonesty, whereas instrumental digital learning habits increase the likelihood of misconduct. Opportunistic behaviour directly heightens academic dishonesty and partially mediates the effect of perceived detection risk. However, it did not moderate the relationships between ethical perception, digital learning habits, and dishonest behaviour. Instead, opportunistic behaviour significantly moderates the influence of perceived detection risk, indicating that students with strong opportunistic tendencies are less deterred by the possibility of detection. These findings highlight the complex interplay between moral awareness, technological behaviour, perceived surveillance, and exploitative tendencies in shaping misconduct. This study contributes to academic integrity research by integrating ethical, behavioural, and contextual elements into a comprehensive model, offering practical guidance for institutions seeking to strengthen integrity in digital learning environments.