La devianza dei piccoli. Pratiche e rappresentazioni del copiare in classe tra gli alunni della scuola secondaria di primo grado e della V elementare

Abstract

- A first attempt to shed some light on the issue of cheating in school in Italy was made four years ago by a national sample-based survey regarding high school students. As evidence showed, 64% of the students said they cheated during class assessment tests and the large majority of the respondents claimed not to feel guilty about such behaviour because they considered it not harmful to anyone. The evidence presented here regards this form of deviance among the pupils of the junior middle school. They cheat less than high school students, feel more guilty, consider their behaviour more harmful and would sometimes even like to be checked more strictly by their teachers during tests than they are now. The habit and attitude to practise fair play diminish inexorably class after class as children grow older. Furthermore, the reasons advanced by the pupils in favour of fair behaviour at school are based more on individual interests ("Cheating is harmful in itself: if this is how you get a good grade, the one you are cheating is yourself") than on honesty and basic social values. More research and more understanding are necessary if this aspect of school mores is to be changed and social responsibility and civic culture are to be boosted among younger generations.