Learning preferences in accounting education: a focus on the role of visualization

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-412
Author(s):  
Enrico Bracci ◽  
Mouhcine Tallaki ◽  
Monia Castellini
Keyword(s):  
Visual Learning ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Preference ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Relevant Factors

Purpose In accounting education studies, there is increasing interest in using teaching visual tools and contents. However, research about the pedagogical benefits of visual in education is still limited. This paper aims to contribute to the debate by providing evidence on the extent to which the visual represents a relevant learning preference of accounting students. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopted the visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic questionnaire as a tested means to study the learning preferences of accounting students. The empirical study is based on a survey conducted with undergraduate and postgraduate accounting students. Findings The results show that visualization appears to be the less-relevant learning preference of students. This result is not in line with the emergent discussion in accounting education literature, which examines how visual tools can improve the presentation of accounting information. This opens the debate about the potential use of visual tools in teaching accounting. Besides, gender and origin of students (national vs international) appeared as relevant factors in explaining a greater visual learning preference. Originality/value This paper attempts to contribute to the accounting literature by providing evidence on the extent to which the visual represents the relevant learning preferences of accounting students. In addition, given that most of the literature on students’ learning preferences are based on Anglo-Saxon contexts, the authors provide evidence from a Latin country.

Sustainability and accounting education: perspectives of undergraduate accounting students in Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim El-Sayed Ebaid
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Development Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Current Accounting ◽  
Level Of Understanding

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore undergraduate accounting students' perceptions and understanding of the concept of sustainable development. Moreover, this study aims to explore students' perceptions of the integration of sustainable development issues in accounting education in Saudi Arabia as an emerging country.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of accounting students from four Saudi universities. The questionnaire contained five groups of questions aimed at exploring the extent of students' awareness and understanding of the concept of sustainable development, their perceptions of the importance of sustainable development for society, their perceptions of the important role of accounting in sustainable development, their satisfaction with the level of integrating sustainable development issues in accounting education at the present time and their opinions about the appropriate approach to integrate sustainable development issues in accounting education.FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that although most of the students have heard about the concept of sustainable development from the media and perceive the importance of sustainable development for society, they have a low level of understanding of this concept due to the apparent weakness in integrating sustainable development issues in accounting education in Saudi universities. Students were unsatisfied with the sustainable development learning offered by Saudi universities. They also showed a positive attitude toward integrating sustainable development issues in their accounting education. They suggested that the appropriate approach to integrate sustainable development issues in accounting education is to treat these issues in the relevant courses included in their current accounting curricula.Practical implicationsThe results of this study provide indications to the administrators of Saudi universities to start developing accounting curriculum to integrate sustainable development issues into accounting education. This will result in an increase in the effectiveness of the role of these universities in achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature concerning how students perceive sustainable development education by focusing on the accounting students in Saudi Arabia as context that has not previously examined.

Ethics and accounting education: does teaching stand-alone religious courses affect accounting students’ ethical decisions?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim El-Sayed Ebaid
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
T Test ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Credit Hours ◽  
Ethical Decisions

Purpose Undergraduate accounting program at Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia is a unique case. The program includes 147 credit hours of which 28 credit hours are religious courses. This study aims to examine the effect of teaching these religious courses on students’ ethical perceptions and decisions. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted for a sample of accounting students at Umm Al-Qura University. The sample was divided into two groups; the first group includes students who did not study religious courses, while the second group includes students who study religious courses. The questionnaire contained three groups of questions that aimed to explore students’ perceptions of ethics in general, students’ perceptions of business ethics and explored their ethical attitudes regarding some accounting decisions that involve ethical dilemmas. Independent two-sample t-test and multiple regression analysis were used to determine whether the responses of the two groups were significantly different. Findings The findings of the study revealed that teaching religious courses led to an improvement in students’ perception of business ethics and an improvement in students’ ethical decision-making. However, the results of the independent sample t-test showed that this improvement was not significant. The results of the study also revealed that male students tend to make less ethical decisions than female students. Research limitations/implications The findings offer an indication for those responsible for managing the accounting program at Umm Al-Qura University to start developing the program so that some of the general religious courses are replaced with specialized courses in accounting ethics that focus directly on ethical dilemmas faced by the accountant when practicing the accounting profession. Originality/value This study contributes to the current literature related to examining the effect of teaching ethics courses on the ethical perception of accounting students by focusing on accounting students in Saudi Arabia as a context that has not been examined before.

SMEs project: a method to encourage interpersonal skills among pre-service accountant

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 883-895
Author(s):  
Gaffar Hafiz Sagala ◽  
Tri Effiyanti
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Interpersonal Skills ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Social Loafing ◽  
Evaluation Instrument ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Accounting Education Change Commission reveals that accounting professionals are required to have interpersonal skills. For this reason, higher education requires the dynamics of learning that can foster critical thinking skills, analysis, communication, negotiation, cooperation and argumentation. Therefore, studies in the field of accounting education have led to a project approach to provide students with complex learning experiences to develop various supporting skills in addition to learning outcomes. Interestingly, the methods have its own dilemma with social loafing in groups. Therefore, a lecturer must be able to match it with an appropriate evaluation instrument. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of implementing peer evaluations and project-based learning (SMEs project) on improving the interpersonal skills of accounting students. Design/methodology/approach The population of this research is Accounting students at Medan State University, while the sample is students who are undergoing Cost Accounting courses taken with purposive sampling. The within-sample of field experiment method was conducted in the current study. Furthermore, data analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA analysis assisted by SPSS 19. Findings The results of this study showed that students had an increase in interpersonal skills in their board, and peer-evaluation design resulted in learning satisfaction and fairness in students. Originality/value The results of this study produce practical recommendations for lecturers to innovate their learning activities with actual project design and control group dynamics with accommodative evaluation designs. This study provides new insights in building a comprehensive instructional design, so it can strengthen the concept of instructional and evaluation designs which are integral parts that should match between one another.

Role of breakfast in hotel selection: systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-217
Author(s):  
Fernanda Leite-Pereira ◽  
Filipa Brandao ◽  
Rui Costa
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Apparent Contradiction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Isi Web Of Science ◽  
Relevant Factors

Purpose Diverse factors may influence travelers when choosing a hotel. Even though breakfast is often commented on in hotel and booking sites, its relative role in hotel selection is rarely studied. This paper aims to determine which attributes clients consider essential regarding the option towards a hotel and their hierarchy namely of breakfast. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was performed in Scopus, ISI-Web of Science and Google Scholar, including relevant original manuscripts published in all languages between 1998 and 2018. Findings Out of 337 initial references, 25 manuscripts were included. Features related to facilities and services were considered in most manuscripts with 21 and 20 citations, respectively, as being the more relevant factors in hotel selection. Room and accommodation were ranked first as the most important characteristic regarding the option for a hotel, whereas breakfast was only referred to in two articles, published in 2015 and 2017, rated in the tenth and fourth positions, respectively. Research limitations/implications Breakfast seems to be addressed in recent published manuscripts, what may reflect a trend toward its evaluation in travelling experiences. More studies should address the relevance of breakfast and food to (diverse type of) costumers, and managers should also consider these factors when advertising their hotels. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic approach to this question, emphasizing the apparent contradiction of breakfast being often cited in booking sites and not adequately studied in tourism research.

Undergraduate accounting students’ perception of a course in accounting research and theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Baker ◽  
Sara Wick
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
Faculty Shortage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Accounting Practitioners

Purpose This study aims to measure the response of undergraduate accounting students to a stand-alone course in accounting theory and research. The aim of the study was to gauge students’ perceptions of the usefulness of this course and to determine if exposure to this material would increase student interest in accounting research and in pursuing a career in academia. Design/methodology/approach Three cohorts of students enrolled in the course completed an in-class survey. The study was conducted from 2015 to 2017. Findings The results of the survey show that student interest in accounting research and theory increased substantially as a result of the course. Students felt that learning about accounting research and the theories used in accounting research enhanced their overall understanding of accounting and would be useful to them as accounting practitioners. This study also reports that students interested in pursuing a PhD and/or an academic career also increased. Research limitations/implications Data were only collected at a single university and represent student perceptions only. Practical implications The results of this study and the description of the course design will inform academics seeking to answer the American Accounting Association Pathways Commission’s call to integrate accounting research and education. This study also suggests a pathway towards addressing the chronic academic accounting faculty shortage. Finally, the results will be of interest to those designing undergraduate accounting curriculum. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on the “teaching-research nexus” in accounting by providing evidence, from the perspective of undergraduate accounting students, of the usefulness of integrating research into undergraduate accounting education. While many accounting researchers view accounting research and teaching accounting as separate activities, the response from students suggests that there is value in fostering a more complementary relationship between these two activities.

To be or not to be: an investigation of accounting students’ career intentions

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zauwiyah Ahmad ◽  
Hishamuddin Ismail ◽  
R. N. Anantharaman
Keyword(s):  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Accounting Profession ◽  
Career Intentions ◽  
Extrinsic Rewards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internship Experience ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
New Finding ◽  
Changes Over Time

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study accounting students’ intentions to pursue their careers as accountants and modelling this within the context of Malaysian accounting education. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered via a questionnaire survey involving undergraduate accounting students. Factor analysis, independent sample t-tests, and multiple regressions were employed. Findings – In total, four findings were derived from this study. First, within the undergraduate accounting programmes, non-commitment towards the accounting profession can still exist. Second, intrinsic interest is a significant predictor of career intentions. Third, the influence of anticipated conflict provides a new finding in relation to accounting students’ career intentions. The last finding is concerned with the influence of internship experience on students’ career intentions. Research limitations/implications – It was assumed that differences detected between the accounting student cohorts reflect changes over time in students’ intentions. Practical implications – Suggestions that have been previously put forward in efforts to market the accounting profession were mainly focused on promoting the extrinsic rewards. However, findings from this study suggested that sole focus on extrinsic rewards is not enough to warrant commitment towards the profession. Instead, marketing efforts should also focus on intrinsic values of the profession. Originality/value – The study has provided evidence that anticipated conflict should be given more attention by accounting researchers. Although students’ career intentions seemed to become clearer and more uniform as they progressed with their studies, two issues remain to be addressed by education institutions and accounting professional bodies, namely anticipated conflict and the conduct of internship programme.

Accounting students’ perceptions of important business communication skills for career success

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Atef Oussii ◽  
Mohamed Faker Klibi
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Career Success ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Business Communication ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Practice ◽  
Graduate Unemployment ◽  
Accounting Graduates

Purpose This paper aims to examine the business communication skills that accounting students see as having the highest importance for career success. It also explores the current levels of development of these skills and analyzes them through a comparative study between three Tunisian business schools. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a questionnaire sent to180 students from three business schools to provide insights into the development of communication skills perceived important for a successful accounting career. Findings The results indicate that all students are conscious of the importance held by communication skills for career success in the accounting profession. However, they feel that their aptitudes are sometimes poorly developed, especially when it comes to proficiency in French (as a language of business in Tunisia) and written skills. Practical implications The paper’s findings offer important guidance concerning the communication skills that accounting students consider most needed by the Tunisian labor market. The findings of this study may be useful for curriculum development in local and international contexts. Originality/value This study is conducted in a developing country where the graduate unemployment rate is about 30 per cent. This high unemployment often affects service professions like accounting. Moreover, in Tunisia, accounting education focuses particularly on technical aspects. So far, no studies have been conducted to show whether students nowadays are aware of the increasing importance of generic skills in accounting practice. As a result, the conclusions of this study could provide Tunisian stakeholders with insights into ways of potentially improving accounting graduates’ employability.

Exploring future accountants’ academic fraud (in)tolerance: Oman evidence

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-83
Author(s):  
Hairul Suhaimi Nahar
Keyword(s):  
Primary Source ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tolerance Level ◽  
Academic Fraud ◽  
Academic Activities ◽  
Accounting Major ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
And Training

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the (in)tolerance level of accounting major students in Oman toward identified integrity destroying academic activities. Design/methodology/approach A triangulation approach was adopted whereby a questionnaire survey on academic fraud (AF) was administered to a group of Omani major accounting students. The descriptive statistical results were further analyzed and validated using in-depth interviews in exploring further the students’ tolerance decisions. Findings A conceivably low and non-disturbing tolerance level toward the myriads of integrity destroying academic activities was documented. The tolerance is, however, observed to be dynamic in nature as it is sensitive to fraud “severity” and “seriousness”, i.e. it increases as AF activities become less severe and serious. Minor free-ride is tolerated the most, followed by minor plagiarism and seldom forgery. These AF activities were tolerated most by female and academically weak students. The varying results suggest that demographic factors do play a role in shaping Omani future accountants’ AF tolerance. The interview results further point to the intertwined factors of academic, family and peers, as well as religion that primarily influence their AF tolerance levels. Originality/value The research fills the extremely scarce accounting education literature in Oman by documenting fresh evidence of AF (in)tolerance among future members of the country’s accountancy profession. As academic is the primary source of accountants’ accountability and integrity knowledge and training base, investigating accounting students’ tolerance toward integrity in the acute context of AF would effectively provide a reflection of the profession’s future integrity environment.

scholarly journals INNOVATING CONTENT AND METHODOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING EDUCATION IN VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITIES FOR MEETING INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
TANDUNG HUYNH ◽  
HUYHANH HUYNH ◽  
LE THI HAI BINH
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Education Quality ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
International Integration ◽  
Compulsory Subject ◽  
Management Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Graduates

Management accounting is a compulsory subject in the curriculum of accounting at the Vietnamese universities. This subject provides management accounting knowledge and future accounting practising skills to students. In the trend of international integration in economics and education, the role of management accounting is more and more important, it requires accounting graduates to gain professional knowledge about accounting management to meet the needs of domestic and foreign organizations. It poses a challenge for Vietnamese universities in the renewal of contents and teaching methods of management accounting subject, especially when most of the stakeholders suggest increase this subject’s credits and contents. This paper researches the reality of management accounting teaching at the Vietnamese universities and suggests the solutions to innovate this subject’s contents and teaching methods. It helps to improve the education quality for accounting students in the trend of international integration.

A narrative on integrating research and theory into undergraduate accounting curriculum

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Baker ◽  
Sara Wick
Keyword(s):  
Course Design ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Student Response ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Professional Certification ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Student Reaction ◽  
Accounting Curriculum

Purpose This paper aims to describe an effort to integrate accounting research and theory into an undergraduate accounting education program through the development and delivery of a fourth-year course. Informing ideas for the course design and content are discussed, and feedback from the students and instructor is provided. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes the form of a commentary and offers the authors’ opinion based on the experience of designing and teaching the course. An in-class survey was conducted in three separate offerings of the course. Findings Student response to the course and material was more positive than anticipated, indicating that undergraduate accounting students are receptive to learning about research and theory, even when it is not required for entrance into a professional certification program. Also, many students often went above and beyond the course requirements in the work they submitted. This indicates that there is an appetite for engaging with material that presents accounting as a social phenomenon rather than solely as a technical activity. Research limitations/implications While the data were collected over multiple years, the survey was conducted at a single university. These findings have implications for the design of undergraduate accounting education programs and, potentially, for addressing the gap between accounting research and practice. Originality/value This review contributes to the discourse on integrating research into undergraduate accounting education as recommended by the AAA Pathways Commission. It describes one method of doing so and identifies the literature that informed the approach taken. This paper also contributes to the accounting education literature by providing evidence of student reaction to a course that uses research and theory as a subject matter rather than a pedagogical tool. This evidence may also inform the teaching –research nexus discourse.

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