Accounting “Boot Camp”

This study examines the effectiveness of a program designed to set appropriate student expectations and motivate students to put forth the necessary effort to succeed in intermediate accounting and other upper-division accounting courses. At a mid-sized public university in the Western US many students enrolled in Intermediate Accounting I (their first upper-division course) struggle with the rigor and academic demands of this course, resulting in failure rates of 30–45%. In many cases, students new to upper-division courses appear to lack a commitment to, or awareness of, the effort needed for success in the accounting program. The faculty implemented an accounting “Boot Camp” to prepare new accounting majors for the expectations of the program. This paper details the implementation of the Boot Camp and reviews its effectiveness by comparing the performance of attendees with the performance of non-attendees. After controlling for other contributing factors, the evidence suggests that attendees outperform their non-attending peers in Intermediate Accounting I. This relatively low-cost intervention should be attractive to faculty concerned about the common problem of students failing and then retaking intermediate accounting.     

An analysis of the implications of diversity for students' first level accounting performance

The present study investigates the impact of student diversity on performance of first-year undergraduate accounting students. The paper is motivated by (i) increasing diversity amongst the accounting student cohort because of the trend to internationalise education services in industrialised countries; and (ii) inconsistent and inconclusive prior evidence on the determinants of accounting student performance. The major contribution of the present paper is to provide a theoretical framework from the published educational literature that can explain much of the variation in the findings of prior studies. We employ this framework to develop and test several propositions in relation to students’ prior content and metacognitive knowledge. The results indicate students studying on-campus significantly outperform students studying by distance education. On average, international students studying on-campus perform better than domestic students (studying either on- or off-campus), with international students studying off-campus performing worst of all. Prior high school accounting, tertiary entrance score and motivation (reflected by both major of study and tutorial attendance) also influence student performance.     

An assessment of the learning benefits of using a Web-based Learning Environment when teaching accounting

The impact and use of information and communication technology on learning outcomes for accounting students is not well understood. This study investigates the impact of design features of Blackboard¹ used as a Web-based Learning Environment (WBLE) in teaching undergraduate accounting students. Specifically, this investigation reports on a number of Blackboard design features (e.g. delivery of lecture notes, announcements, online assessment and model answers) used to deliver learning materials regarded as necessary to enhance learning outcomes. Responses from 369 on-campus students provided data to develop a regression model that seeks to explain enhanced participation and mental effort. The final regression shows that student satisfaction with the use of a WBLE is associated with five design features or variables. These include usefulness and availability of lecture notes, online assessment, model answers, and online chat.     

Preparer versus user introductory sequence: the impact on performance in Intermediate Accounting I

The normal subject matter in the first semester of a traditional introductory accounting course closely parallels the content in Intermediate Accounting I. Because research shows that student performance in college accounting courses is influenced by prerequisite courses, one would expect that those who take a user-approach introductory sequence will not perform as well in later courses. The research reported in this paper compares the performance of students in a traditional Intermediate Accounting I course who took either a preparer-or-user approach introductory sequence. Of the 150 accounting majors in the sample, 53 (97) took a user-approach (preparer-approach) introductory sequence. Of the 97 preparer-approach students, 47 (50) were four-year (transfer) students. The results are consistent with prior research and indicate that SAT scores and student effort are significant for each of the individual tests and for the overall average in course examinations. Gender is not consistent a factor in performance, which also supports prior research. The data indicate that students who took a preparer-approach sequence did not score higher in Intermediate Accounting I and that entry status is not a factor in this performance. This finding leads to the question of whether or not a user-approach would better service those students in our introductory accounting courses who are not accounting majors.     

An exploratory study of the impact of intervening variables on student performance in a Principles of Accounting course

The purpose of this paper is to provide some new empirical evidence on the determinants of student performance in a Principles of Accounting course at Birzeit University situated in the Occupied West Bank. It examines the impact of a number of new attitudinal variables on examination performance. The empirical results suggest that, in addition to a number of standard control variables, student perceptions of factors associated with class size, the attributes of the lecturer, student effort and the complexity of the course are associated with student performance in a first level principles of accounting course.     

Gender differences in the first course in accounting: An achievement goal approach

We examine whether gendered patterns can be observed in first-year students' achievement goals in an introductory accounting course; a question largely overlooked by prior literature. This investigation is motivated by perceptions of accounting as a masculine field involving gender role stereotypes and business schools as competitive and performance-oriented environments. Our findings suggest that male students tend to adopt performance-approach goal, implying that they are more competitive than female students, and that their performance is thus driven by a desire to outperform others. Our findings further suggest that male students' expectations of learning accounting are higher than those of female students. The expectations explain the gender differences in the performance-approach goal. Finally, we find that this performance-approach goal mediates gender differences in course performance depending on the mode of assessment; male students received higher grades for exams but not for teamwork. Overall, our study highlights the importance of considering contextual aspects related to competitiveness, masculinity, and the mode of assessment on an accounting course when addressing students’ achievement goals and expectations of learning accounting. We thus contribute to the understanding of how learning environment, accounting pedagogy, and the broader field of professional accounting intersects with individual student attributes, creating differential learning outcomes.     

Recruiting top students: A letter writing approach

This paper presents the outcome of a letter writing technique to influence top business students to consider enrolling in the first intermediate accounting course. Accounting educators and professional recruiters have expressed concern that accounting may not always be attracting the “best and brightest” students. What can accounting educators do to mitigate this concern? A study was conducted to see whether a simple letter writing effort can make a difference in attracting top students to the first intermediate accounting course.     

Implications of student‐generated screencasts on final examination performance

While educational technologies can play a vital role in students’ active participation in introductory accounting subjects, learning outcome implications are less clear. We believe this is the first accounting education study examining the implications of student‐generated screencast assignments. We find benefits in developing the graduate attributes of communication, creativity and multimedia skills, consistent with calls by the profession. Additionally, we find improvement in final examination performance related to the assignment topic, notably in lower performing students. The screencast assignment was optional, and the findings suggest a tailored approach to assignment design related to students’ developmental needs is appropriate.     

Gender and Performance in Accounting Examinations: Exploring the Impact of Examination Format

This paper addresses the question of whether the increasing use of multiple-choice questions will favour particular student groups, i.e. male or female students. Using data from Belgium, this paper empirically examines the existence of a gender effect by comparing the relative performance of male and female students in both multiple-choice and constructed-response questions in financial accounting examinations. The study is motivated by the increasing number of students in accounting classes, changes in the gender mix in accounting classes, and debates over appropriate means of assessment. We find that female students outperform male students in answering questions in both formats, but their superiority in multiple-choice questions is diminished in comparison with constructed-response questions. This might suggest that multiple choice questions favour male students more than female students. The results hold even if we restrict the comparison to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions having the same general content (e.g. exercise type). Furthermore, the diminishing result was found both for undergraduate and postgraduate students. These results should prompt those involved in assessment to be cautious in planning the type of assessment used in evaluating students.     

Making accounting degrees fit for a university

This contribution is a commentary on the paper by Chabrak and Craig (2013) that calls for accounting pedagogy reforms that place accounting within its socio-economic context and enable students to formulate critiques and alternatives. It examines four areas pertinent to this: accounting curricula and pedagogy; accounting's relation within universities and to professional accounting institutions; student expectations; and accounting academics. The commentary concurs with the plea of Chabrak and Craig for curriculum and pedagogy reforms but notes the difficulties this faces in the UK (and possibly elsewhere) given the growing commercialisation of and competition between UK universities, and the influence of professional credentialing upon accounting academics who lack knowledge of accounting research. However, there is a public interest need, and a student and employer desire for curriculum and pedagogical reform and university teaching quality systems do not militate against this. The conclusion is that it lies with accounting academics to counter the drift of accounting degrees imitating from professional accounting courses.     

A comprehensive effort to recruit and retain accounting students

This paper describes a series of coordinated and proactive recruitment and retention efforts within the accounting department of a southeastern university. Each semester, recruitment of successful students in Principles of Accounting classes is a departmental priority. The intention is to encourage Principles students to declare a major in accounting. For accounting majors in the junior and senior years, a series of programs is offered for professional development. Each year students are surveyed to gauge the perceived value of the time spent out-of-classroom. The results indicate that the time spent out-of-classroom is beneficial. Most important, the results of our efforts to recruit to the major from Principles classes correlate to previous research that indicates contacting potential majors in the introductory course is crucial.     

Student perceptions on using guided reading questions to motivate student reading in the flipped classroom

Although upper-level accounting majors tend to be more motivated than introductory-level students, or non-accounting majors, it is still challenging to motivate such students to complete and understand assigned readings. The purpose of this study is to assess student perceptions on the implementation of guided reading questions to motivate and enhance student reading to help flip the intermediate accounting classroom. Without essential preparation, students may be unable to adequately participate during class discussions or perform well across other course dimensions, especially in a flipped classroom setting. We assigned guided reading questions related to two required intermediate financial accounting textbook presentations (one course specifically for accounting majors and the other for non-accounting majors). Student perception results indicate that the guided reading questions positively impact student motivation, reading comprehension, effort level, and understanding of the material before attending class. The results are strongest for non-accounting majors.     

Does access to tutorial solutions enhance student performance? Evidence from an accounting course

Deciding whether to release tutorial solutions to students is quite often a dilemma for instructors. This paper provides empirical evidence on the effect of releasing tutorial solutions in a management accounting course at a large Australian university. For this purpose, this paper develops a base model for predicting performance in the course and expands the model to incorporate a variable capturing the release of tutorial solutions. Consistent with previous research (e.g. Doran et al., 1991; Danko‐McGhee and Duke, 1992; Kavanagh and Rohde, 1996), in the base model, although performances in an introductory accounting course and the mid‐semester test were found to be good predictors of performance in the final examination, evidence on the role of gender and age was weak. In the expanded model, there was no evidence that releasing tutorial solutions improved performance in the final examination. The findings of this paper have policy implications for educators and administrators in education in deciding whether to release tutorial solutions to students.     

Factors affecting classroom participation and how participation leads to a better learning

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we analyze various course- and student-related factors that affect participation grades within several college accounting classes. The second purpose is to determine whether in-class participation grades have an effect on exam performance in these classes. We find that, unlike in liberal arts and sciences courses, in accounting courses, participation grades for female students do not differ from participation grades for their male counterparts, regardless of class level. Overall, course level and student major have no direct effect on participation grades; however, the accounting majors and students in the lower level courses have better attendance than do non-accounting majors and students in more advanced courses. We observe that class schedule, in particular class duration and semester, affects students’ participation performance. Lastly, we find that students who participate more in classroom discussions perform 25% better on exams than do those with lower participation grades. This relationship holds for the three elements of participation grading: frequency of participation, consistency of participation, and attendance.     

Relationships between Vocational Interests and Learning Approaches to Advance the Quality of Student Learning in Accounting

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of vocational interests on the learning approach of accounting students at the undergraduate level. It brings together two theoretical models: vocational interests and approaches to learning, to investigate student learning in the accounting discipline. The research focus is supported by more general findings from the education literature which suggest that interest-oriented learning leads to superior approaches to learning. The research was tested using 917 tertiary accounting students across two universities. The associations between vocational interests and learning approaches provide support for the theoretical model linking vocational interests (e.g. conventional) with deep learning approaches in a tertiary accounting environment. There are practical implications for the teaching of accounting with particular reference to whether the current curriculum reinforces the values of those individuals with conventional interests.     

Accounting and Finance Degrees: Is the Academic Performance of Placement Students Better?

The relationship between placement and academic performance on accounting and finance degrees is significantly under-researched. This paper examines the relationship between a number of factors, including placement, and academic performance as measured by average marks. Readily available data on placement status, gender, and prior achievement for the academic years ended 2004, 2005, and 2006 for students reading for an accounting and finance degree were used. Linear regression models were constructed using two versions of the data—one with all students in it and the second with graduates only. Placement students perform significantly better than full-time students do and, in the Graduates model, the female placement students perform significantly better than their male counterparts do. Most recent prior academic performance is significant in all models whereas gender had no separate significant effect on performance in the second and final years of the degree. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research into placement.     

Heterogeneous student perceptions of accounting course importance and their implications for SET reporting and use

This research tests for an association between student perceptions of accounting course importance (PCI) and student evaluation of teaching (SET) ratings of satisfaction with instructor performance, course quality, and grading procedures. The study also investigates whether instructor rankings constructed from SET ratings vary across student groupings based on PCI. Using responses from students enrolled in introductory accounting classes at three AACSB-accredited accounting programs we find that SET ratings vary significantly with PCI. We also find that instructor rankings constructed from SET ratings vary with PCI. These findings suggest that, when heterogeneous perceptions are present, satisfying all students enrolled in a course may not be possible and that reliance on aggregated SET data may obscure important differences in student opinion. In this circumstance, disaggregating SET data by PCI and emphasizing the feedback of students holding higher (stronger) perceptions of course importance may enhance SET diagnostic value.