1 Post-graduate and under-graduate accounting students: are their differences in expectations and perceptions about learning? Janto Haman 1 , Jacqueline Birt* 1 , John Donald and 2 and Ellinor Allen 1 1 Department of Accounting and Finance, Monash University, Victoria, Australia 2 School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia 3 November 2012 ABSTRACT: An earlier study by Haman, Donald and Birt (2010) found that post-graduate corporate accounting students expected the unit to be "interesting" and challenging". Based on these findings, we extend Haman et al. (2010) to investigate the differences in expectations and perceptions between post-graduate and under-graduate students undertaking similar corporate accounting unit. We find that post-graduate students are more interested in studying the corporate accounting unit to enhance their future career compared to under-graduate accounting students. We find that post-graduate students expect that the corporate accounting unit to be more challenging in relation to unit content than under-graduate students. We also find that post-graduate students have higher expectation on lecture delivery that links theory with practice and/or the real world than under-graduate students. The findings suggest that lecturers or instructors need to provide a teaching and learning approach which is tailored to the needs of student cohorts at different academic levels, for example by varying the type of internal assessments, the way that the unit is delivered and amount of assistance given to these different cohorts of students. Keywords; Perceptions, expectations, interesting, challenging, corporate accounting, post- graduate and under-graduate students *Address for correspondence: Dr Jacqueline Birt, Department of Accounting and Finance, Monash University, Building H, 900 Dandenong Road, Caulfield East, Victoria, 3145, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9903-4557, Email: [email protected]Acknowledgement: We acknowledge and thank RMIT Accounting Education Conference‟s reviewers and Ralph Kober for their insightful feedback and comments.
Transcript
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Post-graduate and under-graduate accounting students: are their differences in
expectations and perceptions about learning?
Janto Haman1, Jacqueline Birt*
1, John Donald and
2 and Ellinor Allen
1
1Department of Accounting and Finance, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
2School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia
3 November 2012
ABSTRACT: An earlier study by Haman, Donald and Birt (2010) found that post-graduate corporate
accounting students expected the unit to be "interesting" and challenging". Based on these
findings, we extend Haman et al. (2010) to investigate the differences in expectations and
perceptions between post-graduate and under-graduate students undertaking similar corporate
accounting unit. We find that post-graduate students are more interested in studying the
corporate accounting unit to enhance their future career compared to under-graduate
accounting students. We find that post-graduate students expect that the corporate accounting
unit to be more challenging in relation to unit content than under-graduate students. We also
find that post-graduate students have higher expectation on lecture delivery that links theory
with practice and/or the real world than under-graduate students. The findings suggest that
lecturers or instructors need to provide a teaching and learning approach which is tailored to
the needs of student cohorts at different academic levels, for example by varying the type of
internal assessments, the way that the unit is delivered and amount of assistance given to these
In Australia, a university post-graduate who has successfully completed a major in
accounting has the opportunity to become an associate member of one of three Australian
professional accounting bodies (CPA Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants or the
Institute of Public Accountants). Such a post-graduate could have followed one of several
academic pathways. These include under-graduate degrees in commerce, business or
accounting, and the corresponding post-graduate1 awards such as the Master of Commerce, or
the more specialised programs like the Master of Professional Accounting (MPA). The MPA
was introduced by Australian universities specifically to enable post-graduate students with
non-accounting backgrounds to gain professional recognition as an accountant. Both under-
graduate and post-graduate students who intend to pursue a career in accounting would study
a sequence of units that is intended to satisfy the entry requirements of the accounting bodies.
The units studied would typically include corporate accounting, management accounting,
financial decision-making, taxation law and practice, auditing and information systems.
The aim of this study is to extend an earlier study by Haman, Donald and Birt (2010)
which examined the expectations and perceptions of post-graduate corporate accounting
students. Using factor analysis, we compare the expectations and perceptions of post-graduate
and under-graduate students who studied similar corporate accounting units2 at two Australian
universities. Corporate accounting3 was chosen as the basis of this study because its content is
relatively complex and difficult and can pose a challenge to both instructors and students. To
successfully complete the unit, students need to understand the conceptual and applied aspects
of accounting standards and financial reporting procedures (Haman et al. 2010). Data
regarding students‟ perceptions and expectations of the corporate accounting units were
obtained from surveys of 105 post-graduate and 247 under-graduate students. The syllabi for
the corporate accounting units undertaken by both student groups cover the legal and
professional requirements in key areas of corporate financial reporting. The topics include
initial public offerings of shares, the acquisition and revaluation of non-current assets, tax-
effect accounting and consolidated financial statements. To enrol in either of the two
corporate accounting units for which data was obtained, all students must have successfully
completed a prerequisite introductory accounting unit covering basic accounting principles
1 Graduate students are commonly known as post-graduate students in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
2 In the US, corporate accounting is equivalent to Intermediate accounting and Advanced accounting.
3 Some degrees in the US refer to this unit as intermediate financial accounting.
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and procedures. After excluding responses that were not properly coded, our final
observations comprise responses from 101 post-graduate and 245 under-graduate students.
An understanding of students‟ expectations and perceptions is important for a number
of reasons. In Australia, as in many other countries, student survey data on perceived teaching
quality is used extensively to compare universities and to measure the teaching effectiveness
of individual academics. For example, the Australian Institute for Teaching and Learning is
responsible for administering and reporting the results of an annual survey of new university
post-graduates. This is the Australian Graduate Survey (AGS), which incorporates the Course
Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) (Ramsden, 1991). The CEQ was designed specifically as a
performance indicator for higher education. The results of the AGS are reported course by
course for every Australian university and have been widely used to support internal quality
assurance processes.
The importance of favourable student survey results has led to academic staff now being
perceived as having a responsibility to optimise what is often referred to as „the student
experience‟; a broad term which covers all aspects of engagement between a university and its
students. It is reasonable for students to expect that they will receive educational services
which meet their specific needs and expectations (Voss, Gruber, and Szmigin, 2007).
This poses a challenge for universities because they are now serving an increasingly diverse
mix of students in terms of age, prior educational experience and cultural background. The
heterogeneous nature of the typical student body and the diversity of students‟ needs have to
be recognised. Arambewela and Maringe (2010) assert that the needs of under-graduate and
post-graduate students are different and hence the support services required cannot be
organically designed and developed on the same template. While the services may offer
excellent support for under-graduates, they seem to fall short on supporting the different
needs of post-graduate students. (p. 35).
Prior studies have found that modifying the structure and content of a unit, and the way
that it is delivered, can alter students‟ perceptions and improve their academic performance
(Ramsden, 1992; Marton and Booth, 1997; Prosser and Trigwell, 1999; Jackling, 2005).
Understanding the differences between post-graduate and under-graduate students‟
perceptions and expectations in relation to a corporate accounting unit can help academic staff
to design and implement appropriate teaching strategies for this type of unit as delivered to
student cohorts at different academic levels. Based on this notion, we investigate the
following research question “Are there any significant differences in perceptions and
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expectations between post-graduate and under-graduate students undertaking a corporate
accounting unit?”
The study contributes to the accounting education literature by providing information on
differences between Australian post-graduate and under-graduate students, in relation to a
typical corporate accounting unit. It is important for academic staff to realise that, although
the same course content may be taught to both under-graduate and post-graduate students, the
learning needs of these two groups of students are likely to differ. We find that post-graduate
students displayed a higher level of interest in the content of the corporate accounting unit
than under-graduate students. Post-graduate students reported undertaking the corporate
accounting unit in order to pursue a future career in the accounting field, and they found the
corporate accounting unit to be more challenging than the under-graduate students. Academic
material or tasks which are challenging are those which are set at a level of difficulty which
tests the students‟ ability to comprehend or to apply the skills and knowledge they have
already acquired. Post-graduate students expect that the corporate accounting unit should
introduce more accounting concepts and standards, emphasise more accounting reports and
their implication for decision making, emphasise more problem solving through examples,
emphasise more case discussions and analyses, and emphasise more practical issues in
accounting. We also find that post-graduate students have higher expectation on lecture
delivery that links theory with practice and/or the real world than under-graduate students.
The results indicate that post-graduate students are more pragmatic in studying a corporate
accounting unit than under-graduate students. This could be due to post-graduate students
having more determination to pursue their future career in the accounting field than under-
graduate students.
Due to the differences in perceptions and expectations between these two student
groups, lecturers or instructors need to ensure that the curriculum and learning activities
provide the appropriate level of intellectual challenge for each cohort. Post-graduate students,
with extensive prior experience of university study, are more likely to have developed
efficient study practices and would be more aware of the need to take the initiative in seeking
assistance from academic staff. They would have more realistic expectations of the demands
that will be placed on them as independent learners in a new discipline, and the academic
results they are likely to achieve (Larcombe, Nicholson and Malkin, 2008). The results of this
study can provide academics with a better understanding of what students expect when they
undertake a corporate accounting unit, thus identifying their specific learning needs in terms
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of the amount and type of structure, the way that the unit is delivered, and the level of
classroom interaction that is appropriate for a particular student cohort.
The remainder of this paper is divided into four sections. The next section reviews the
literature relevant to post-graduate and under-graduate students‟ expectations and perceptions.
This is followed by a description of the research method used. The results are then presented
and discussed, while the conclusions, limitations and opportunities for future research are set
out in the final section.
Literature Review
Students’ perceptions
An individual‟s perceptions are based on subjective evaluations of what is happening in
the world around them. In other words, perceptions are interpretations of reality and these can
be shaped by the individual‟s past experiences, as well as his or her knowledge and genetic
predisposition. It is logical therefore to link the differences between students‟ expectations
and perceptions of a particular learning environment to differences in personal characteristics.
As Black (1996) states, perceptions “… act to form a construct of reality for each individual,
and will therefore differ from student to student …” (p. 203). For example, research by Marsh
and Bailey (1993) and Neumann (2000) showed that perceptions of teaching quality were
influenced by the year level of students, i.e. the extent of their prior learning. These studies
found that later year subjects were rated more highly than first-year subjects, while the ratings
for post-graduate subjects were higher than for under-graduate subjects. A later study by
Whitworth, Price and Randall (2002) also found that post-graduate students had significantly
higher perceptions of teaching quality than their under-graduate peers. Perceptions are the
subjective element in students‟ evaluations of an academic unit, and they supplement the
more readily measurable objective characteristics such as attendance and pass rates.
A number of studies have shown that students perceive the nature of the learning
environment to have a strong influence on the learning approaches they adopt (Marton and
Booth, 1997; Prosser and Trigwell, 1997, 1999). More recently, Ferreira and Santoso (2008)
concluded that students‟ perceptions are “… a product of the dynamic and intertwined
elements of the learning environment” (p. 213). Ramsden (1987, 1992, and 2003) has stressed
the importance of taking students‟ perceptions of the learning environment into account when
assessing the effects of instructional techniques. Positive perceptions of the learning
environment have been shown to lead to better learning by students and, consequently, to
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higher levels of academic achievement (Biggs, 1987; Entwistle, 1987; Meyer, Parsons and
Dunne, 1990; Ramsden 1992, 2003; Mladenovic, 2000). Although a student may have a
predisposition towards a particular learning approach, it is the way that the student interprets
the context in which the learning takes place that will determine the approach to learning
actually adopted (Entwistle and Entwistle 1991).
Eley (1992) argued that students were able to alter their adopted study approaches
dependent on their perceptions of the teaching environment. His study found that when a
course work unit was perceived by students to be better taught by comparison with another
unit, with higher levels of support and encouragement from teaching staff, there was a
significant increase in the tendency to report the adoption of deeper study approaches.
Therefore, Eley (1992) suggested that students‟ learning approaches are a direct consequence
of their discriminative perceptions of the teaching in a particular academic unit. By
successfully modifying students‟ perceptions of contextual factors, academics can alter their
learning approaches and produce better learning outcomes (English, Luckett and Mladenovic,
2004; Hall. Ramsay and Raven, 2004). In other words, by changing the learning environment,
teachers can alter students‟ perceptions of courses and thereby influence their future study
plans (Ramsden. 1992; Marton and Booth, 1997; Prosser and Trigwell, 1999; Jackling, 2005).
Facilitating positive student perceptions of an introductory accounting unit can
encourage students to choose accounting as a major and the accounting profession as an
employment destination. Conversely, some researchers have reported that negative student
perceptions of an initial accounting unit can induce negative perceptions of accounting as a
profession (Geiger and Ogilby, 2000; Jackling, 2002). The reverse also applies: negative
perceptions of accountants and/or accounting as a profession can discourage students from
studying accounting subjects (Cohen and Hanno, 1993). Accounting students‟ perceptions can
therefore influence not only their learning approaches but also their career choices and their
selection of an academic major (Fisher and Murphy, 1995; Friedlan, 1995; Caldwell, Weishar
and Glezen, 1996; Saudagaran, 1996; Mladenovic, 2000).
Students‟ perceptions of the usefulness of what they are studying can affect not only
how they learn and what they learn, but also their levels of motivation. Students are more
highly motivated to learn when they perceive that what they are studying is highly relevant to
their future careers (Usoff and Feldman, 1998; Arnold, Loan-Clarke, Harrington and Hart,
1999; Rainsbury, Hodges, Burchell and Lay, 2002; Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008).
Abeysekera (2008) suggests that Asian students in particular are motivated by a desire to
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establish a rewarding professional career and such motivation is “... commonly accompanied
by an enthusiasm for course material which is perceived as interesting and which provides the
necessary preparation for that career” (p. 188). A similar motivational effect and its associated
enthusiasm would certainly be a characteristic of many non-Asian students. Most students
have concerns about their future employability, so it is important to determine whether
accounting students perceive that their accounting course is actually helping them to acquire
the skills required of accountants (Keneley and Jackling 2011).
While there are numerous studies which have examined students‟ perceptions of various
aspects of teaching, such as teaching style, workload and assessment methods, there is a
paucity of published research which compares the environmental perceptions of different
cohorts of accounting students. Ferreira and Santoso (2008) compared the perceptions of
under-graduate and post-graduate students, however the focus of their study was on students‟
perceptions of accounting as a career and not on their perceptions of the learning
environment. They related the students‟ perceptions of the accounting profession to their
academic performance in a management accounting unit and found that there was a
significant positive relationship between these two variables for both student cohorts.
Students’ expectations
Expectations represent an individual‟s hopes and objectives for the future, and they can
be viewed as composite constructs which include both ideal expectations (what the individual
would ideally like to occur) and predictive expectations (what he or she assumes is probably
going to occur) (Sander, Stevenson and Coates, 2000). If we view universities as providers of
educational services and their students as consumers or customers, then clearly the
maintenance of quality standards is dependent on knowing what students expect. This is what
Sander et al. (2010) refer to as “an expectations driven approach to quality assurance in
educational delivery” (p. 310). They point out that “… successful service industries have been
shown to think „outside in‟. They examine what customers expect of the service and they then
work to provide the service that meets those customer expectations” (p. 309). Following this
line of reasoning, Baldwin, Newstead and Fullerton (1997) developed the University
Students‟ Expectations of Teaching Questionnaire which enables students to express their
preferences as to how their course might be delivered in terms of the teaching methods and
the assessment regime used. It also gathers information on what students believe to be the
qualities of a good university teacher.
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Studies that have investigated differences between the expectations of post-graduate and
under-graduate students have been undertaken mainly in disciplines outside accounting. For
example, Russell (2005) surveyed both post-graduate and under-graduate international
hospitality students studying in the United Kingdom in order to investigate their expectations
of the service quality provided by tertiary institutions in hospitality and tourism courses.
Russell found significant differences in students‟ expectations relating to hospitality education
in that foreign under-graduate students expected to receive a higher quality education in an
overseas (i.e. Western) institution. Post-graduate students, however, placed more importance
on improving their language skills and showed a higher level of concern with academic issues
compared to under-graduate students.
More recently, Larcombe et al. (2008) examined the interests and expectations of
commencing law students from both an under-graduate and post-graduate perspective. Their
study found significant differences between the two groups in a number of areas. In particular,
it found that there was a closer match between the interests and expectations of post-graduate
students and the subsequent realities of the degree. Larcombe et al. (2008) also found that
post-graduate students were more interested than their under-graduate counterparts in the
content of the law degree, and were more confident than under-graduate law students with
respect to certain requirements of the degree program such as critically evaluating
information, writing academic legal essays and actively participating in class discussions and
group work.
Haman et al. (2010) examined the expectations and perceptions of post-graduate
international students who undertook a corporate accounting unit at an Australian university.
They found that these students expected the post-graduate corporate accounting unit to be
"interesting" and "challenging". This finding was based on the students' response to
questionnaire statements such a "the material I expected to study in this unit would be useful
for my future career" and "I would like this unit to emphasise problem solving through
examples". Moreover, the students expressed a strong desire that the unit should emphasise
the practicalities of accounting and also equip them with skills that will enhance their
employability.
In summary, most of the prior research into the expectations and perceptions of
accounting students has been undertaken at either the under-graduate or the post-graduate
level. To the authors‟ knowledge, no study has yet compared survey responses from enrolled
under-graduate and post-graduate students undertaking a corporate accounting unit. However,
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as noted above, the research based on other disciplines which has compared post-graduate and
under-graduate students‟ expectations and perceptions has found significant differences
between these two cohorts. Following Haman et al. (2010), we focus on the expectations and
perceptions of these students and specifically identifying if there are differences between the
two cohorts on questionnaire statements associated with the constructs of "interesting” and
“challenging” in relation to future career and unit content respectively. We also examine the
differences between students relating to a third construct of "delivery” in relation to how
lecture and tutorial hours are set and whether undertaking this unit is a matter of student
choice.
Research Method
To gather the data for this study, a questionnaire utilised by Balachandran, Skully, Tant
and Watson (2006) and Haman et al. (2010) was employed (see Appendix A). Post-graduate
and under-graduate students undertaking the corporate accounting units recorded their
responses to questionnaire statements by using a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 meaning
“strongly disagree” and 5 “strongly agree”. Table 1 shows that the total number of
respondents to the survey was 352 comprising 105 post-graduate students4 and 247 under-
graduate students5.
INSERT TABLE 1 HERE
In this study, we adopt factor analysis to determine the variables that can represent the
original statements obtained from the survey responses of post-graduate and under-graduate
students (see Appendix A). We run a factor analysis using Principal Axis Factor (PAF) with
varimax rotation on the students‟ responses. Table 2 reports that factors 1, 2 and 3 have
eigenvalues which are greater than 1. Focusing on the “proportion” column, it shows that the
first, second and third factors can explain 43, 28 and 20 per cent of variance respectively of
the information from the original variables. The “cumulative” column shows that choosing
these three factors would explain 91 per cent of variance of the information from the original
variables. Therefore, we focus on our analysis on these three factors.
4 The survey of post-graduate students was conducted at university “A” in week 5 of second semester 2007. The
initial results from this survey have been published in Haman et al. (2010). 5 The survey of under-post-graduate students was conducted at university “B” in week 7 of first semester 2011.
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INSERT TABLE 2 HERE
Table 3 also shows the three factors that have factor values which are greater than 0.5.
The variables in factor 2 are Q14, Q19 and Q20 with factor values of 0.511, 0.581 and 0.564
respectively. The variables in factor 1 are Q5, Q6, Q7, Q8 and Q9 with factor values of 0.505,
0.587, 0.656, 0.643 and 0.584 respectively. Further, the variables in factor 3 are Q10 and Q11
with factor values of 0.596 and 0.609 respectively. A factor value larger than 0.5 or smaller
than -0.5 means that the variable fits well with that factor.
Hence, the questionnaire statements related to the construct factor 1 are 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
We consider these questionnaire statements are associated with the construct of “challenging”
in relation to unit content:a
(5) I expected that this unit would introduce me to new accounting concepts and
standards
(6) I would like this unit to emphasise accounting reports and their implications for
decision-making.
(7) I would like this unit to emphasise problem solving through examples.
(8) I would like this unit to emphasise case discussions and analyses.
(9) I would like this unit to emphasise practical issues in accounting.
The relevant questionnaire statements related to the factor 2 construct are 14, 19 and 20. We
consider these questionnaire statements are associated with the construct of “interesting” in
relation to future career.
(14) The material I expected to study in this unit would be useful for my future career.
(19) After graduation, I would like a career in the accounting field.
(20) I would have a reasonable chance of getting a job that requires an accounting
background.
The relevant questionnaire statements related to factor 3 are those numbered 10 and 11. We
consider that these questionnaire statements are associated with the construct of "delivery" in
relation to lecture.
(10) I am satisfied with the present teaching of this unit i.e. a two-hour session for a
lecture and one hour for a tutorial.
(11) I am satisfied with the lecture delivery for this unit, which links theory with
practice and/or the real world.
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To interpret the survey data, the study uses non-parametric Mann-Whitney (MW U) test
statistics to identify significant differences between the median values of post-graduate
students and under-graduate students‟ responses and the factor scores of the questions
associated with factor 1 “challenging”, factor 2 “interesting” and factor 3 “delivery” in
relation to “unit content”, “future career“, and “lecture delivery” respectively.
INSERT TABLE 3 HERE
RESULTS
Summary statistics
The median values for the responses of post-graduate and under-graduate students, and
the non-parametric Mann-Whitney (MW U) test statistics are provided in Table 4. The MW U
test is used to test for significant differences between the post-graduate students‟ and under-
graduate students‟ responses to each questionnaire item. The MW U test statistics in Table 4
show that post-graduate students‟ sum of ranks for most statements are stronger than those of
under-graduate students except for items numbered 10 (I am satisfied with the present
teaching of this unit i.e. a two-hour session for a lecture and one hour for a tutorial) and 20
(I have a reasonable chance of getting a job that requires an accounting background).
The results in Table 4 indicate that post-graduate students are more "interested" in
undertaking the corporate accounting unit to enhance their future career than under-graduate
students. This could be due to post-graduate students having more determination to pursue
their future career in the accounting field than under-graduate students. Moreover, Table 4
shows that post-graduate students expect that the corporate accounting unit is more
"challenging" in relation to unit content than under-graduate students. Post-graduate students
expect that the corporate accounting unit should introduce more accounting concepts and
standards, emphasise more accounting reports and their implication for decision making,
emphasise more problem solving through examples, emphasise more case discussions and
analyses, and emphasise more practical issues in accounting. In addition, post-graduate
students have higher expectation on lecture delivery that links theory with practice and/or the
real world than under-graduate students. The results indicate that post-graduate students are
more pragmatic in studying a corporate accounting unit than under-graduate students. Further
analysis using factor scores analysis supports these differences.
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INSERT TABLE 4 HERE
Factor scores analysis
Table 5 reports the results of factor scores analysis on the three underlying factors. A
respondent‟s factor score is computed by taking an average of the scores for each of the
separate variables that make up the factor. For example, the first factor “challenging” in
relation to unit content is made up of the following responses based on the following
statements:
(5) I expected that this unit would introduce me to new accounting concepts and
standards
(6) I would like this unit to emphasise accounting reports and their implications for
decision-making.
(7) I would like this unit to emphasise problem solving through examples.
(8) I would like this unit to emphasise case discussions and analyses.
(9) I would like this unit to emphasise practical issues in accounting.
If a respondent scores 4, 5, 5, 5 and 5 for Q5, Q6, Q7, Q8 and Q9 respectively, the
average factor score for the “challenging” construct for this respondent is 4.8. Based on this
factor analysis, we now have first factor score “challenging” in relation to unit content that
represents the information of the respondent‟s original responses on Q5, Q6, Q7, Q8 and Q9.
We apply the same procedure to obtain average scores for factors 2 and 3. Table 5 reports that
the post-graduate students‟ sum of ranks for the first factor “challenging” (MW U test of
4.538***
), second factor “interesting” (MW U test of 1.709*) and third factor “delivery” (MW
U test of 2.327**
) respectively are stronger compared to under-graduate students. The results
support the findings in Table 3 that post-graduate students are more interested in studying the
corporate accounting unit compared to under-graduate students. The findings are consistent
with discussion early that the main motivation of post-graduate students to undertake the
corporate accounting unit is to enhance their future career in the accounting field. The results
also support the findings in Table 3 that post-graduate students expect that the corporate
accounting unit is more challenging relative to under-graduate students. Furthermore, post-
graduate students have higher expectation on lecture delivery that links theory with practice
and/or the real world than under-graduate students.
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INSERT TABLE 5 HERE
CONCLUSION
The principal objective of this study was to provide an understanding of the key
differences between post-graduate and under-graduate cohorts of accounting students in terms
of their expectations and perceptions relating to similar corporate accounting unit. We find
that post-graduate students are more interested in undertaking the corporate accounting unit
than under-graduate students. Further, post-graduate students study the corporate accounting
unit in order to pursue a future career in the accounting field. Post-graduate students expect
that the corporate accounting unit is more challenging than under-graduate students, in
particular, post-graduate students expect that the corporate accounting unit should introduce
more accounting concepts and standards, emphasise more accounting reports and their
implication for decision making, emphasise more problem solving through examples,
emphasise more case discussions and analyses, and emphasise more practical issues in
accounting. We also find that post-graduate students have higher expectation on lecture
delivery that links theory with practice and/or the real world than under-graduate students.
The findings suggest that post-graduate students expect to acquire more practical
accounting skills in class that could benefit their future career in the accounting field.
The findings from this study suggest that academics or instructors need to consider providing
a teaching and learning approach which is tailored to the needs of student cohorts at different
academic levels, for example by varying the type of internal assessments, the way that the
unit is delivered and amount of assistance given to these students.
This study extends an earlier study by Haman et al. (2010) which focused only on post-
graduate corporate accounting students. The current study utilises the original Haman et al.
(2010) post-graduate data and collects new data for 2011 under-graduate students. There are
numerous opportunities for future research stemming from the current study. Future studies
could explore the views of post-graduate and under-graduate accounting students in other
areas such as management accounting, accounting information systems and auditing. The
survey could be done in the first and last week of teaching period for both under-graduate and
post-graduate students. It would be useful to investigate these sub-disciplines of accounting to
determine what differences exist between post-graduate and under-graduate students. An
investigation of these students could also involve the use of semi-structured interviews and
focus groups to try to identify exactly what the differences are between students at different
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levels and why such differences exist. Further studies could also interview the academics and
instructors who teach both groups concurrently to establish what they have found to be the
needs of diverse cohorts of students and what pedagogical techniques have been found to
work well in the classroom.
15
Project Number: CF11/0680 - 2011000328
COMPANY REPORTING QUESTIONNAIRE
Please write day, date and year:
YOU CAN CHOOSE NOT TO RESPOND TO THIS QUESTIONNAIRE. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE
YOUR NAME OR STUDENT ID ON THIS FORM.
The purpose of the survey is to provide feedback to the lecturers in order to enhance students‟ learning and/or the
teaching program/strategy in future teaching periods. It will be also used in a future publication.
You are requested to respond each question using a scale rating from 1 to 5 which is defined as follows.
1 = strongly disagree
2 = moderately disagree
3 = neither agree nor disagree
4 = moderately agree
5 = strongly agree
Please circle your selection
Statement Response
1. I expected that this unit would be interesting. 1 2 3 4 5
2. I expected that this unit would be challenging 1 2 3 4 5
3. I expected that this unit would be useful in day-to-day life. 1 2 3 4 5
4. I expected that this unit would involve many numbers and calculations. 1 2 3 4 5
5. I expected that this unit would introduce me to new accounting concepts and
standards.
1 2 3 4 5
6. I would like this unit to emphasise accounting reports and their implications
for decision-making.
1 2 3 4 5
7. I would like this unit to emphasise problem solving through examples. 1 2 3 4 5
8. I would like this unit to emphasise case discussions and analyses. 1 2 3 4 5
9. I would like this unit to emphasise practical issues in accounting. 1 2 3 4 5
10. I am satisfied with the present teaching of this unit i.e. a two-hour session for a
lecture and one hour for a tutorial.
1 2 3 4 5
11. I am satisfied with lecture delivery for this subject, which links theory with
practice and/or the real world
1 2 3 4 5
12. This unit should be required only for an accounting major. 1 2 3 4 5
13. I would not take this unit if it was not required for my major. 1 2 3 4 5
14. The material I expected to study in this unit would be useful for my future
career.
1 2 3 4 5
15. The material I expected to study in this subject will be useful for other subjects
in my educational program.
1 2 3 4 5
16. I had adequate preparation in basic accounting to study this unit. 1 2 3 4 5
17. Many of the terms used in this unit have been difficult for me to understand. 1 2 3 4 5
18. Before taking this unit, I was not familiar with Australian Accounting
Standards (AASB) and concepts.
1 2 3 4 5
19. After graduation, I would like a career in the accounting field. 1 2 3 4 5
20. I would have a reasonable chance of getting a job that requires an accounting
background.
1 2 3 4 5
The questions in parts A and B of this questionnaire are a variation of those used in a prior Australian studies by
Balachandran et al. (2006), and Haman et al., (2010).
16
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Table 4: The median values of post-graduate students and under-graduate students’ responses
#The comparative results of variables between post-graduate students and under-graduate students are based on the non-parametric MW U-test statistics because the
sample sizes of these two groups of students are significantly different (101 versus 245). We do not employ the parametric independent t test statistics because the
latter assumes that the number of observations of the two independent samples under consideration should be the same.
***, ** and * denote statistical significance at the 1, 5 and 10 per cent levels, respectively.
The reduction of sample is due to few respondents did not respond properly some questionnaire statements.
Q
#
Description Post-graduate
(n = 101)
Under-graduate
(n = 245)
MW U
test
statistics# Mean Median SD Mean Median SD
Challenging in relation to unit content
5 Introduce new accounting concepts and standards 4.31 5 0.93 4.10 4 0.93 2.277**
6 Emphasise accounting reports and their implication for decision-making 4.15 4 0.83 3.84 4 0.88 3.116***
7 Emphasise problem solving through examples 4.48 5 0.77 4.09 4 0.89 4.029***
8 Emphasise case discussions and analyses 4.21 4 0.85 3.65 4 1.03 4.754***
