ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
POLICYSUMMERHILL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a guiding principle in education and a choice to act in a responsible way whereby
others can have trust in us as individuals. It is the foundation for ethical decision-making andbehaviour in the production of legitimate, authentic and honest scholarly work. Academic integrity
goes beyond a definition and a well-structured school policy; it should also be part of an “ethicalculture” of any educational institution, be that a primary school or a university. It is an obligation
which must be embraced and fostered by the entire school community, so students continue their
future life, whether in higher education or in the workplace, in strict adherence to this principle.
Fostering an academic integrity culture, and a personal positive attitude towards it, requires thedesign of a school strategy that combines policies and good academic practice, while understanding
the fundamental dimension it has in the authentic construction of meaning and learning in all IB
programmes. The guiding principle of academic integrity can be seen as built up from a number ofsimpler concepts in education, that can start early during the PYP, be reinforced during the MYP andcemented later through the DP and CP. Expectations should be clearly communicated and modelled atan age appropriate level so that all IB students understand:● their responsibility for producing authentic and genuine individual and group work
● how to correctly attribute sources, acknowledging the work and ideas of others● the responsible use of information technology and social media● how to observe and adhere to ethical and honest practice during examinations.
Educators supporting IB students in their learning should understand their own central role indeveloping the approaches to learning and reinforce the principle of academic integrity through allteaching, learning and assessment practices. 3

IBO Programmes: Academic Integrity (2019)
Introduction
We believe all members of our school community at Summerhill International School areaccountable for upholding ethical and moral behaviours in the school. It is the responsibility of
stakeholders to learn about and understand the nature of intellectual honesty and academic
integrity so that we can assist students in developing personal responsibility for learning.
Establishing a culture of academic integrity supports the school’s mission to empower children to
become confident, global, compassionate and respectful young people.
The purpose of this document is to guide our actions related to the development of academic
integrity at our school. Our main aim is to help young people and the rest of our learning
community to become intrinsically responsible for making the right decisions when it
comes to matters of integrity.
As with other IB schools1, we also believe in the importance of our Academic Integrity
Policy promoting the development of the attributes of the IB2 learner profile. We promote acommitment in our students to take responsibility for their own actions so they become
knowledgeable and open-minded inquirers who are able to communicate and act in aYIS (2015) Academic Honesty Guidelines, Dwight International School: Academic Honesty Policy, NIST Academic Honesty
Policyhttps://www.yis.ac.jp/uploaded/Library_New_Titles/Academic_Honesty_Guidelines_YIS.pdf
2
IBO (2007) Diploma programme: Academic Integrity. International Baccalaureate Organisation, Cardiff. Retrieved
March 11th
http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/documents/general/specific_interest/malpractice/g_0_malpr_sup_0707_1_e.pdf
1principled manner as demonstrated through integrity and honesty. This is developed throughcareful attention to approaches to teaching and learning so that academic integrity is developed
explicitly through the normal teaching in the school.

Acknowledgements
Our Academic Integrity Policy has been developed in accordance with the International
Baccalaureate Programmes, and we acknowledge the contribution of policy of Aoba-JapanInternational School.

Academic Honesty and Integrity: Definitions
Academic honesty means that all academic [artefacts] should result from an individual's
own efforts. Intellectualcontributions
from others must be consistently andresponsibly acknowledged in an appropriate way. Academic [assignments] completed in any
other way are fraudulent'3. Academic Integrity is something bigger and deeper. While academic
honesty can be seen to be in response to certain situations and especially assessments,
academic integrity is more about the responsibility of the individual due to their right todevelop as a learner. If academic honesty is how one behaves, academic integrity is why one
behaves in this way.
Therefore it is the intention to develop a spirit of academic
integrity among community members of Summerhill rather than merely develop a reactive
policy to academic dishonesty.

Roles and Responsibilities
Leadership Team:All members, of the school’s Leadership Team have a responsibility to:
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model the values of academic integrity (honesty, trust, fairness, respect andresponsibility).
foster a culture of academic integrity amongst the members of the learning community
support all classroom teachers in the development of their understanding of theimportance of academic integrity.
offer parent and teacher information sessions related to academic integrity.
provide the resources to ensure the monitoring of academic integrity is adequate.

Class Teachers:
IB teachers have a responsibility to teach and monitor academic integrity by:●●modelling academic integrity in their own practices.
teaching a variety of practices related to academic integrity that reflects the 5fundamental values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.

Illinois University (2015) Definition of Academic Integrity: retrieved March 11th 2015
http://www.library.illinois.edu/learn/research/academicintegrity.html
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●Using the approaches to learning (self-management skills, social skills, communication
skills, thinking skills and research skills) across the curriculum to further develop thetools necessary to maintain academic honesty.4●

Sharing strategies with parents to ensure student engagement and responsibility with
their own learning.

Example strategies
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Making connections between the Learner Profile and the 5 fundamental values ofacademic integrity.
Using visuals to help students understand practices related to academic integrity.
Providing examples and models of academic honesty (e.g. in collaborative work, homeactivities)
Embedding discussions about students’ responsibility for their own work in all aspects of
their learning.
Developing essential agreements for individual and group work.
Developing essential agreements related to responsible use of information technology
and media sources.
Teaching research skills to all learners in collaboration with the librarian.

Librarian:
One role of the Librarian is to regularly collaborate with all PYP teachers to develop the learners’
research skills that are needed to understand and apply academic integrity. Other roles are toidentify and relate the use of new resources for fostering a culture of academic integrity and formonitoring it and relating these to teachers.

Learners:
The path to developing academic integrity in all situations is part of a learner’s path to becoming
a good citizen. As part of the community, our young people must become aware of and develop
their responsibility as learners with integrity. In an age-appropriate situation, our learners need
to be taught about academic integrity and learn how to accept and live up to this responsibility.
Our development as learners is a right and so comes with certain responsibilities that respectthat right. All learners are expected not to engage in acts of malpractice in accordance with theguidelines outlined in this Academic Integrity Policy and associated IBO policy.
IB learners are expected to learn about the fundamental values of academic integrity within thecontext of their learning.

Parents/Legal guardians:
Parents/legal guardians play an important role to work hand in hand with the school to reinforce
the importance of academic integrity.
Parents, teachers and learners will have open

IBO (2014) Academic Honesty in the IB Educational Context. Retrieved October 2021
https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/76d2b6d4731f44ff800d0d06d371a892/academic-integrity-policy-english.pdf
4

conversations together to uphold the IB’s principles on academic integrity and be fullycommitted to support the student learning and success in the IB programmes.
To manage the process of academic integrity, parents/legal guardians of IB learners are expected
to:●
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model and understand the fundamental values of academic integrity
talk to their child about the importance of academic honesty and intellectual integrity.
work in partnership with the school to ensure student engagement and responsibility forlearning.
understand what constitutes student academic misconduct and its consequences.
avoid excessive assistance in the completion of work for their children.

Good Academic Integrity Practice:
The following section outlines what good academic integrity practice looks like at Summerhill. We
aim to develop the values of academic integrity (honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility)
through a focus on the Learner Profiles and the Approaches To Learning (self-management,social, communication, thinking and research skills).

Learner Profiles that reflect academic integrity:
Principled: Being honest and fair. Treating others fairly and with respect.
Caring: Help others, care for self and others, and learn to feel empathy for others.
Thinker: Solve problems, learn from mistakes and be thoughtful towards others.
Open-Minded: Listen to others and try to understand others perspectives.
Communicator: Share ideas, and learn to express and communicate in different ways.
Reflective: Think back on areas for improvement and the choices one has made.
Discussions

Principled

Collaborativework

Individual workFollowing
essential
agreements(self-management) (fairness)

Caring

Helping eachother anddisplaying
empathy
towards others(social) (respect)

Thinker

Being respectful
to others
assigning teamroles andProblem solving,
being
responsible forown work

Oral
presentation/
sharing

Researching
projects

Demonstrateactive listening
and waiting for
one's turn(communication,social) (fairness)

Following
essential
agreements
related to the
responsible useof information
technology andmedia resources(research,thinking)Home
activities/
Homework

Thinking foryourself tocompletehome activitiesresponsibilities(social) (respect)

OpenMinded

understanding
different
perspectives(communication)(respect)(thinking,research)(responsibility)(thinking,self-management)(responsibility)

collaborating
and beingopen-minded toothers’ points ofview (communication)(fairness)

Communicator

being genuine
and fair incollaboratingwith others(social)(fairness/honesty)

Reflective

Reflecting on
how well they
are working
together andhow they canimprove(self-management) (honesty)

Model good
behaviour e.g.
speaking clearlyand loudly soothers can hear(communication)(responsibility)
Putting in theirbest work, follow
through with thetask at hand,thinking of ways
to make it better(self-management, thinking)(responsibility)

explain wherethe information
was found(research)(honesty)

Receive feedback
willingly(self-management) (respect)

Academic Misconduct:
Academic misconduct is when a learner does not follow the school's regulations as articulated in
the school's academic integrity policy. At Summerhill, academic misconduct mainly consists ofbehaviours and practices that do not support the fundamental values of academic integrity.

Possible consequences of misconduct:
As a school we support the students’ to reflect on their behaviour. This can be supported
through meetings which may include teachers, parents, and the school principal.

Adopted: January 2022