Examining the relationship of academic dishonesty with academic procrastination, and time management in distance education.

Academic dishonesty undermines the integrity of educational processes and remains a widespread concern in higher education institutions, including those offering distance learning. In this context, identifying the factors that influence students' academic dishonesty behaviors is crucial. This study aims to explore the relationship of academic dishonesty with academic procrastination behaviors, time management skills among distance education students. For this purpose, the study employed a correlational survey model, which is a quantitative research method. The research sample comprised 220 students enrolled in an associate degree program via distance education at a public university, selected using the convenience sampling method. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, Pearson correlation analysis, and stepwise regression analysis. The findings indicate that academic dishonesty behaviors among distance education students are low, while their academic procrastination behaviors and time management skills are at a medium level. The analysis of demographic characteristics revealed varying trends in their effects on academic dishonesty, academic procrastination, and time management skills among the participants. The study found no significant effect of demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, marital status, and employment status, on academic dishonesty. A positive relationship was found between academic procrastination behavior and academic dishonesty behavior; while a negative relationship was observed between time management skills and academic dishonesty. The analyses revealed that academic procrastination behavior and time management skills together predict academic dishonesty behaviors, with the developed model explaining approximately 26 % of the total variance in these behaviors. This study aims to address a critical gap in the literature and contribute to the development of academic integrity strategies by examining the relationships between academic dishonesty behaviors, academic procrastination behaviors, and time management skills in distance education.