An analysis of how students construct knowledge in a course with a hierarchical knowledge structure (original) (raw)
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The structure of knowledge within a discipline has implications for the teaching and learning within the discipline. This research examines how the hierarchical knowledge structure found in accounting impacts on the teaching and learning which takes place in the first-semester introductory financial accounting course. Students used online questionnaires and interviews to explain how they engaged with the discipline and describe the difficulties they experienced during the semester. Bernstein's pedagogic device and Maton's Legitimation Code Theory were used to analyse the structure of knowledge within the discipline and as theoretical lenses through which to view these students' perceptions. This research provides a theoretical explanation for the impact that a hierarchical knowledge structure has on teaching and learning within the discipline; how students need to develop a " trained gaze " and thereby gain mastery over the " procedures of investigation " to be able to produce the " legitimate text " required for success in the course. This research also explains why some students experience a " code clash " and the implications this has for their success in the discipline. Other pedagogical difficulties which were experienced by these students, as a result of the hierarchical knowledge structure within the discipline, are also discussed. In addition to providing a better understanding of the phenomena that drive or hinder student learning, which could contribute towards improving pedagogy and hence student learning, theorising these concepts provides a common language to enable more informed debate on these issues. Introduction This article is based on aspects of a larger piece of research which investigated the structure of knowledge, and how students constructed knowledge, in the first-semester introductory financial accounting course. The research was undertaken to investigate why some students seem to struggle with the discipline and what could be done to assist these students in successfully completing the course. The focus of this article, based on the results which emerged from the research, is the implications of the structure of knowledge in accounting for the teaching and learning in a first semester course.
Students’ conceptions of learning in the context of an accounting degree
Accounting Education, 2017
Students' conceptions of learning (CoL) play an important role in the learning process leading to the development of generic skills. This paper investigates whether CoL of accounting students can be developed by incorporating high-level cognitive skills progressively within the accounting curriculum. First, the study explored, using phenomenography, the variation in accounting students' CoL. The findings highlighted some nuances in accountings students' CoL and that lower-order CoL were prevalent among accounting students. However, more (less) thirdyear students than second-year students adopted higher-(lower-) order CoL. Upon examining the learning objectives, teaching methods and assessment of all units comprising the accounting major of the host university, evidence was found that CoL are progressively developed and shaped, albeit in a limited way, based on the levels of cognitive domain emphasised within the curriculum. The findings highlight the need for accounting educators to take a whole of the programme approach to developing higher-order CoL.
Variations in accounting students' conceptions of learning
2013
Students' conceptions of learning or preconceived views of what learning means to students have been found to play a significant role in how they choose to approach their learning. This study investigates conceptions of learning held by accounting students in their second-and third-years in university. The study is based on phenomenographic and content-analytic approaches applied to survey responses of 207 accounting students from an Australian university. In the first phase of the analysis we identify 6 learning conceptions. Learning is conceived as: (1) increase of knowledge; (2) understanding; (3) knowledge acquisition for application; (4) a pathway to success; (5) seeing in new ways; and (6) self-development. Compared to similar studies we did not find evidence of the conception 'learning as memorisation'. In contrast to prior research 'learning as understanding' emerged as a lowerorder conception of learning in accounting students in this study. In the second phase we find that, after controlling for a range of factors that are likely to affect students' conceptions of learning third-year students are more likely to adopt a higher-order conception. However, majority of the students, including third year students, continue to adopt low-order conceptions. These findings highlight the need to extend student learning beyond the acquisition of technical skills and knowledge to instil higher-order learning conceptions which underpin the development of generic skills much demanded of professional accountants. As a result, the findings of this study have implications for curriculum and assessment design, and learning and teaching practice in accounting degree programs.
The British Accounting Review, 2005
This paper is concerned with a strand of educational research that seeks to support students in developing a better awareness and understanding of themselves as learners. Since it is difficult to 'know' our students individually there is value in knowing more about the dimensionality of variation within cohorts of students and the impact that this variation has upon their learning (i.e. how they vary in their engagement of accumulative (surface) or transformative (deep) learning processes). The paper identifies a means of identifying variation within a subject discipline: the linkage of a generic model of student learning (operationalised through the Reflections on Learning Inventory (RoLI q ) [Meyer, J.H.F., 2000. An overview of the development and application of the Reflections on Learning Inventory (RoLI). Paper presented at the First RoLI Symposium, Imperial College, University of London, September; Meyer, J.H.F., 2004. The domain of the RoLI and recent extensions to it. Paper presented at the Second RoLI Symposium, Imperial College, University of London, 17th February] with a subject-specific Expectations of Learning Accounting (ELAcc) Inventory. The power of this approach lies in its ability to identify those discipline-specific conceptions and motivations that may be related to accumulative or transformative learning processes. The linked RoLI and ELAcc inventory was administered to 1211 students of introductory accounting across five UK universities. The findings show that there are variations in conception and approach to learning between students who specialise in accounting and those who do not, and between male and female accounting students. They also show the ways in which different 0890-8389/$ -see front matter q conceptions of the subject of accounting are linked with transformative, accumulative and pathological learning processes. The main contribution of this paper is, firstly, to demonstrate that the linked RoLI and ELAcc inventory provides a means of identifying variation within cohorts of students and, secondly, to show that the linked inventory is effective in identifying educationally and statistically significant variation in a student cohort. The findings identify aspects of the linked inventory that require further development and raise important questions to be addressed by further research. However, in its current form the linked inventory also provides an initial diagnostic instrument that may be used to support students in their learning and as a basis for teaching interventions. q
Journal of Accounting Education, 2005
This study investigates whether students who learn accounting topics in courses organized by function (e.g., financial and managerial) structure their knowledge differently than students who learn the same topics in courses that integrate across functions. The study also examines whether studentsÕ use of this knowledge depends on how subsequent test problems are structured. Results of a laboratory experiment indicate that the organization of topics affected how students structured their knowledge in memory. Further, when students subsequently solved test problems, recall of knowledge was superior on test problems that possessed a structure similar to studentsÕ memory structures and inferior on test problems that were not similar to their memory structures. No recall differences were detected when students solved problems that did not favor a particular structure. Implications of the results for course design and student assessment are discussed.
International Journal of Higher Education
Premised on the theoretical assumptions of social constructivism and multiple intelligences, the purpose of this conceptual study was to investigate teaching approaches which are compatible with the learning styles of first-year accounting student teachers from a theoretical perspective. Being a conceptual study in nature, data was collected from a host of sources on learning styles, teaching approaches, social constructivism and multiple intelligences. The study established that while not all first-year accounting student teachers are able or do not prefer to learn everything in the same way, social constructivist centred approaches are highly compatible with most of the students’ learning styles. Based on literature verdicts, the study recommends the application of the principles of social constructivism in accounting lesson presentations. It is also recommended that accounting lecturers should orchestrate all teaching and learning activities around student needs and their learnin...
An Inter-Institutional Exploration of the Learning Approaches of Students Studying Accounting
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This paper provides a comparative analysis of the learning approaches of students taking their first course in accounting at a United States or an Irish university. The data for this study was gathered from 204 students in the U.S. and 309 in Ireland, using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST, 1997) which measures learning approaches on three dimensions: deep, strategic, and surface. The analysis reveals that while both samples favor a strategic approach over the other approaches, the U.S. students have a significantly higher score on the deep and strategic scales compared to the Irish students. Differences between the samples at the subscale level -such as students' intrinsic interest, time management, and fear of failure -are also reported. Finally, the study contextualizes the findings by analyzing variations in the learning environment of the two universities.
A Concept Tree of Accounting Theory: (Re)Design for the Curriculum Development
Education Sciences , 2019
This study contributes to both accounting and concept mapping literature through the depiction of a concept tree based on the Accounting Theory curriculum, which has undergone recent and rapid expansion of its knowledge and has hence outgrown the previous limited mapping work. This tree-shaped concept map not only accounts for a particular mapping approach little studied and scarcely exemplified in literature, but also signifies a creative model that graphically interprets the sophisticated system of accounting theories and concepts as well as their complex interrelationships. In teaching practices, this concept tree has attested a potential to promote curriculum development, as evidenced in sequence and cohesion of topics and by being linked meaningfully to exam design.
2020
This thesis contributes thinking-centred models of knowledge and learning. Knowledge is modelled as comprising three types of idea indicative of different ways of thinking. Learning is modelled as comprising a range of different types of thinking deployed in each of four phases of a sense-making process. The thesis researches a pedagogy designed to be congruent with these models with the aims of changing students’ beliefs about cost accounting and developing the professional skills to deal with real world uncertainty. Finally, it explores the role and interactions of epistemic beliefs with students’ perceptions and behaviours in response to the redesigned pedagogy.