Abstract
Previous research has explored possible reasons to conduct academic dishonesty while there are only a few research studies that investigate the strategies to promote academic integrity and do not look at moral self-regulation as a mediating variable. This study, therefore, aims to examine whether moral self-regulation mediates the effects of mastery goal orientation and performance goal orientation on academic integrity. A self-report scale was distributed to 251 students (M = 41%; F = 59%) of one state Islamic university in Jakarta, Indonesia, in which the structural equation model was used to analyse the data. Using the root mean square error of approximation, comparative fit index and Tucker–Lewis Index as indicators of the model of fit, the results proved that moral self-regulation mediated two mentioned variables affecting academic integrity. This finding implies the need to consider the inclusion of moral self-regulation in the academic life of students.
 Keywords: Academic integrity, moral self-regulation, mastery goal orientation, performance goal orientation;
Highlights
University students are expected to have academic integrity, which should have been built since the early stages of education
Using the root mean square error of approximation, comparative fit index and Tucker–Lewis Index as indicators of the model of fit, the results proved that moral self-regulation mediated two mentioned variables affecting academic integrity
The results revealed that moral self-regulation is a variable that mediates the effects of both mastery goal orientation and performance goal orientation on academic integrity
Summary
University students are expected to have academic integrity, which should have been built since the early stages of education. This is important because academic integrity is a symbol of moral code or ethical policy of academics, which includes the values of honesty (avoiding cheating or plagiarism) and maintenance of academic standards, such as discipline and thoroughness in academic research and publishing (Jones, 2011; Stephens, 2019). Nesterova et al (2019) emphasise the importance of academic integrity as it is related to the educational quality and reliability of student achievement. In line with this, Bretag (2016) defines academic integrity as a commitment to being responsible and courageous in realising those values even in difficult situations. Some previous studies have revealed more about some negative behaviours related to morale, such as moral disengagement that affects moral behaviours (Bandura, 2002) and cheating behaviour in supporting academic performance (Finn & Frone, 2004). Oran, Can, Senol and Hadimli (2016), for instance, have found that 49.1% of students had carried out plagiarism in their final thesis, while Hensley, Kirkpatrick and Burgoon (2013; as cited in Krou, Acee, Pino & Hoff, 2019) have reported that more than 50% of the students had graduated by cheating
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