Examination Types, Stages and Malpractices: A Sociological Investigation of the Normalisation, Digitalisation and Massification of Examination Deviance in Sierra Leone

Examination malpractices are topical in discussions in Sierra Leone today. Many of the discussions embed moral panics or resignation to its apparent prevalence. However, as is often the case with such complexes about deviation from established norms, the discussions contained scattered information speaking pass each other without the benefit of the synergetic insights that could come from being joined together to give a more comprehensive and holistic picture. My preliminary attempts at understanding the issue by piecing together the scattered information revealed specific patterns that I further probed into through a more systematic gathering of data from primary sources and insights from the broader social science literature. Examination malpractices are a category of conduct that sociologists call deviant. Sociological perspectives are therefore invaluable for my probe. The work seeks relevance by pursuing systematic and integrative conversations of data on Sierra Leone with applicable perspectives on deviance. The discussions support the initial hunch about patterns coalescing around the normalisation, digitalisation and massification of examination malpractices. They also provide updated contextual analysis that could inform social responses, policies and actions.