Honesty for Students

Honesty forms the foundation of a thriving community. Why? Because when we are honest, we are more likely to trust each other — and this trust develops positive, healthy relationships and a sense of belonging. Without honesty, society breaks down and chaos ensues.

Honesty means being truthful and open in what you say and do, as well as being someone others can trust because you keep your promises. Honesty is a complex value, and while research shows that most adults tend to be honest most of the time, dishonesty is common in childhood and a natural part of development. Indeed, children begin lying as early as preschool, reflecting their emerging cognitive and social development, such as understanding others’ perspectives, managing conflicting thoughts, and learning to regulate their emotions and behavior. According to researchers, young people who come to rely on lying may have “poor development of conscience, weak self-regulatory control, or antisocial behavior.”

While humans have a natural desire to build trusting relationships with others, deception and lying are also traits that have evolved for use in certain situations. For example, a child might lie to protect their own interests or to help others. Consider a child in a home or school with harsh disciplinary styles, such as physical punishment. Lying might be an effective strategy to avoid harmful punishment. Or a student might choose to omit some information to be polite or to protect someone else.

In schools, honesty can help foster positive peer and student-teacher relationships by developing a culture of trust. This in turn can help cultivate academic honesty, or being truthful and fair in one’s schoolwork and studies. Students who are “academically honest” do their own work, give credit to others for their ideas, and don’t copy someone else’s work or cheat.** Academic honesty reinforces a school culture grounded in trust and ensures everyone is treated fairly in learning and education.

An educator fosters academic honesty by teaching students to accurately cite their sources, and, during group projects, to honor the contributions of all members of their group.

Many things impact social and academic honesty, like one’s social environment, societal norms, and culture. Children internalize the values that society reinforces about honesty and dishonesty. Different cultures may see some forms of dishonesty as more or less acceptable—or even desirable in some cases—than others.

If there is a widespread culture of cheating at a school that goes unaddressed, students may feel that they are at a disadvantage if they don’t cheat as well.

In cultures that value modesty, lying may be seen as acceptable if it’s used to downplay bragging about one’s achievements. Similarly, research has shown that children from some collectivist cultures are less likely to condemn lies that benefit the group, compared to children from more individualistic cultures.

Overall, honesty is a complex value that must be actively modeled and nurtured in young people, by helping them to understand the social norms around honesty, to develop a conscience, and to foster strong, trusting relationships with others.

“Honesty without compassion is cruelty. Kindness without honesty is manipulation.”—Mike Wolber A student who always points out when others make mistakes, although being truthful, may also be hurting their classmates’ feelings. To foster honesty with kindness, the teacher regularly holds circle meetings in which students cultivate empathy and trust, and practice giving and receiving feedback while considering the feelings of others.

**According to researchers, reducing the levels of cheating in school requires more than just promoting honesty (although, in elementary school, this may be effective). Cheating is the result of a student’s fear of failure, which stems from the student’s self-worth, or lack thereof.