Student Perceptions Of The First Course In Accounting: Majors Versus Non-Majors

• Published in: American journal of business education Vol. 5; no. 5; pp. 501 - 514
• Main Authors: Tickell, Geoffrey, Lim, Tiong Kiong, Balachandran, Balasinghan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Littleton The Clute Institute 01.09.2012; Clute Institute
• Subjects: Accounting; Australia; Barriers; Business education; Business schools; Cash flow statements; Classification; Cohort Analysis; College students; Colleges & universities; Community colleges; Core curriculum; Correlation; Course Evaluation; Curriculum Design; Curriculum development; Design; Education policy; Experiential Learning; Factor Analysis; Financial Audits; Financial statements; Foreign Countries; Introductory Courses; Likert Scales; Majors (Students); Nonmajors; Perceptions; Relevance (Education); Student Attitudes; Student Interests; Student Surveys; Studies; Teaching methods; Undergraduate Students; Units of Study; Australia
• ISSN: 1942-2504; 1942-2512
• DOI: 10.19030/ajbe.v5i5.7206

This paper contributes to the continuing debate regarding the curriculum for the first undergraduate course in accounting by examining student perceptions from studying such a course. Participants are divided into two cohorts - Accounting & Finance Majors (AFM) and Other Business Majors (OBM). Results reported in this paper indicate that teaching the introductory accounting course from a users' perspective is likely to engender a more favorable impression from students than teaching from a preparers' perspective. Findings indicate that the AFM cohort holds significantly more positive attitudes to the first course in accounting than does its OBM counterpart. Furthermore, AFM student perceptions do not change between the beginning and the end of the course. In contrast, the OBM students respond less favorably at the end of the course than at the beginning. Findings underscore the difficulty of developing a first course in accounting that is interesting, useful and challenging to accounting and non-accounting majors. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]