Abstract

This study investigates the impact of certificate overvalue on the tendency to engage in examination malpractice and the moderating influence of students attitude towards learning and religious affiliations among secondary school students in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A correlational research design was adopted for the study. The sample consisted of 884 secondary school students randomly selected from Ekiti state Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select two local governments from each of the three senatorial districts in Ekiti state. Three schools were randomly selected from each of the local government, the total number of eighteen (18) schools and fifty students were randomly selected from each school. Standardized instruments as attitude towards school, Religiosity and Spirituality Scale for Youth by Hernandez (2011), Perceived benefit of credentials and Students examination taking behaviour were used to collect data from the respondents on the variables under study.. Data collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple regression model. The result indicated that the three predictor variables jointly accounted for 16% of the total variance in examination malpractice tendency (F (3,883) = 57.886; R= .410; R2= .168; Adj. R2=.165; P<0.05). Also, the three variables contributed independently to the prediction of examination malpractice tendency: attitude towards learning (β= -.120; t=-.408, P>0.05); religious affiliation (β=.047; t=.159, P>0.05) and emphasis on certification (β= .405; t= 12.471, P<0.05). The relationship between attitude towards learning and examination malpractice tendency as well as religious affiliation and examination malpractice tendency were negative while that of emphasis on certification and examination malpractice tendency is positive. The results clearly showed the impact of certificate overvalue on the tendency to engage in examination malpractice. Thus, it is strongly recommended that there should be more emphasis on the evaluation of skills alongside certification acquired in the process of recruitment of personnel in any organization of the country.