Enacting academic integrity – it takes courage

Tracey Ann Bretag‘s Keynote speech about why the virtue of courage is critical for both individuals and academic communities to uphold academic integrity.

Speech at 2nd international conference Plagiarism across Europe and Beyond 2015 (10th-11th June 2015, Brno, Czech Republic).

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX6VlvFabJg

Length: 50 minutes

Abstract:

In 2013 the International Center for Academic Integrity revised the Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity to include courage as follows: Courage is an element of character that allows learners to commit to the quality of their education by holding themselves and their fellow learners to the highest standards of academic integrity even when doing so involves risk of negative consequences or reprisal. Being courageous means acting in accordance with one s convictions. Like intellectual capacity, courage can only develop in environments where it is tested. Members of academic communities must learn not only to make integrous decisions, but also to display the courage necessary to follow their decisions with action. Only through the exercise of courage is it possible to create and maintain communities of integrity strong enough to endure as responsible, respectful, trustworthy, fair and honest regardless of the circumstances they face. (Revised Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity, ICAI 2013) Dr Bretag challenges participants to consider why the virtue of courage is critical for both individuals and academic communities to uphold academic integrity. Dr Bretag provides examples from the community and university case studies to demonstrate how courage works in practice.

Bretag, T. (2015). Enacting academic integrity – it takes courage. In Plagiarism Across Europe and Beyond – Conference Proceedings/2015 (pp. 6-6). Brno: Mendel University.