Bringing active learning into the accounting classroom

Satoshi Sugahara*, Steven Dellaportas

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of an accounting education pedagogy incorporating active learning approaches designed to engage first-year undergraduate business students and to aspire them to continue accounting as their academic major and entry into the accounting profession. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from a questionnaire with a pre-/post-test design of 24 undergraduate business students enrolled in a course titled Accounting Active Learning Seminar (AALS) (test group) and 33 students who did not participate in the AALS (control group). The AALS incorporates various types of active learning methods designed by the authors to inspire students to continue with accounting as a career choice. Findings: The findings show that participation in the AALS improved student’s motivation in accounting education and the likelihood of choosing accounting as their academic major. The active learning methods implemented in the AALS were effective in improving students’ confidence, of which degree contributed to students’ stronger works aspiration towards accounting professions. Further it was found that students who did not participate in the AALS tended to have lower attention dimensions of motivation, which was also significantly associated with lower percentage of students’ choice of academic major in accounting. Originality/value: This is one of the few studies to empirically examine active learning on student engagement and performance with a focus on accounting. While the evidence shows that active learning has pedagogical benefits, the full potential of active learning is more likely to be realized when accounting educators design active learning carefully to address the “attention” and “confidence” attributes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)576-597
Number of pages22
JournalMeditari Accountancy Research
Volume26
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Oct 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Accounting education
  • Active learning
  • Course interest survey
  • Learning motivation

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