Ethical Complexities in Using GenAI: How do University Teachers and Students in Nepal Navigate them?
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Ever since GenAI penetrated higher education academic practices, the discussion on ethical complexities is equally wide. The reality is the ethical complexities that emerge in higher education settings differ in contexts where there are hardly any national or institutional guidelines. Thus, this study explores what ethical complexities emerge in Nepalese higher education settings when teachers and students of education discipline use GenAI and how do they navigate such issues. It also unfolds a series of misfits or systemic tensions that emerge when students and teachers use GenAI in their academic practices. The findings show that students face difficulty in distinguishing GenAI-supported outputs as their own work or GenAI outputs since institutional guidelines are missing. Students cannot clearly stipulate what percentage of or what nature of change on outputs will enable them to claim that those outputs belong to them, and they are not required to cite GenAI. Similarly, transparency is another issue as both teachers and students remain reticent about the use of GenAI as their practice is not guided by any institutional norms. This study is expected to support institutional heads and national policy stakeholders to understand what the ethical complexities are and how students and teachers are handling them when they are using GenAI in higher education academic settings and what the roles of institutional and national guidelines can be to assist their use. This research also helps educational stakeholders from other contexts that share similar contextual values in relation to GenAI use in education.
Source: Research Square
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7166564514