Academic integrity means  a quality school that works for the benefit of every child and person

On September 15, 2021, the Academic IQ team presented methodological recommendations  Academic Integrity in Secondary Education, created together with OsvitAnalityka Think Tank, invited experts, and supported by the State Service of Education Quality of Ukraine . The presentation took place at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center with the participation of the following speakers: 

  • Scott Whitmore,  Assistant Cultural Attaché at the US Embassy in Ukraine;
  • Kateryna Kostohryz, Academic Integrity and Quality Initiative Project Coordinator;
  • Yevhen Nikolaiev, Ph.D., Candidate of Economic Sciences, expert of OsvitAnalityka Think Tank, compiler of the Recommendations;
  • Ivan Yuriichuk, Director of the Accreditation and Monitoring Department of the State Service f of Education Quality of Ukraine;
  • Yuliia Bolovatska, Ph.D.,Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Chief Specialist of the Sector of Work with Experts of the Department of the State Service of Education Quality of Ukraine in Poltava Region,
  • Yuliia Breus, Ph.D., Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Head of the Training and Research Center for Personnel Development and Leadership, Kyiv Borys Hrinchenko University;
  • Liubov Terekhova, Ph.D., Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Innovative Educational Content of the National Center “Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”.

Scott Whitmore, who joined the event online via zoom, opened the event with a welcoming speech, emphasizing that academic integrity in schools is the key to a better future. “Schoolchildren will become university students tomorrow, and educating them based on the principles of academic integrity should be an integral part of the educational process.”

Ivan Yuriychuk, Director of the Accreditation and Monitoring Department of the State Service for the Quality of Education of Ukraine аdded: “Academic integrity is a common thread that runs through all our procedures: whether it is an institutional audit of educational institutions or teacher certification. Academic integrity was one of the cornerstones for these procedures and in their development. And we have always had good partners to implement these principles.”

The State Service of Education Quality of Ukraine is one of the main partners of the Academic IQ Initiative.  Kateryna Kostohryz, Project Coordinator, expressed gratitude to the State Service for a fruitful cooperation with the Academic IQ Project, emphasizing the important role of the State Service in monitoring education quality in secondary schools, as well as in institutional support that the Service provides to secondary schools in developing internal education quality assurance systems.

According to the Project Coordinator Kateryna Kostohryz, the preparation of Recommendations was an important component of the project: “When creating these Recommendations, we aimed to give not only some theoretical approaches, but also to show how to implement and shape this culture in practice so that it provides assistance and certain tools to school administration,principals, and  teachers.”

During the presentation, the authors shared their experience of writing their sections and their own thoughts on the issues of academic integrity. The compiler of methodical recommendations Yevhen Nikolaiev also noted that these Recommendations are a tool explaining  what academic integrity is and how to support school children on a way to their future success. Yevhen Nikolaiev also mentioned results assessment as an important aspect of academic integrity.

Yuliia Bolovatska, one of the authors of the methodological recommendations, spoke about what academic integrity is and how it affects the quality of education in schools. She noted that for her, academic integrity is all about  success, quality, tolerance, and doing what is right  in any given circumstances. Yuliia Bolovatska, as a representative of the State Service of Education Quality of Ukraine, also spoke about institutional audit and teacher certification, and the role academic integrity plays in these processes.

“Academic integrity is about consistency and complexity. There are no ready-made solutions on how to shape  academic integrity culture among students.It is our own responsibility and that of parents, teachers, as well as peers, to become role models in sticking to academic integrity principles. These are the cases that they see around themselves, and we should start with providing an explanation, “- said Yuliia Breus, one of the authors.

Liubov Terekhova focused on the role of  teachers in  implementation of the principles of academic integrity. She mentioned that they should try to understand correctly types of academic integrity violations, and become ambassadors  of academic integrity themselves. Ms.Terekhova, the Head of the Laboratory of Innovative Content of Education of the National Center Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, shared her experience in forming a culture of academic writing among students and motivating them to conduct research based on academic integrity principles.

Methodological Recommendations are available for download under the link

Video recording of the presentation “Academic Integrity in Secondary Education: Methodological Recommendations” is available here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ny74DQOoOs