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The priming role of qualitative research in constructivist management control teaching
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on educational science research and concepts, this paper aims to organize and analyze prior accounting literature on the integration of research into teaching and provides evidence for the relevance of integrating research into constructivist management accounting teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
Evidence shall be drawn from the autoethnographic account of a case study, namely, an MiM course in a French business school.
Findings
The presentation of qualitative research plays a priming role in collective debates where knowledge is co-produced by the group of students.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis opens up many avenues for future research on constructivist accounting teaching (e.g. teachers’ profiles, cross-cultural comparison) and its consequences.
Practical implications
The case provides examples of how, in practice and beyond general principles, the constructivist teacher adapts to his/her audience and their educational heritage. It also invites a holistic consideration of teaching arrangements, the relationships between their elements and their collective impact on learning.
Originality/value
The case study, the analysis of which draws on educational science frameworks and concepts, provides an in-depth account of research integration into constructivist accounting teaching.
... This facilitates the internalization and transfer of knowledge. Detailed feedback can enrich the monitoring of the research process and results [7]. Through many steps and processes, the results of the study can meet the appropriate mission criteria and requirements. ...
The idea of virtual reality (VR) has gained widespread acceptance in modern society. Although most people still see it as a new form of entertainment, in fact, this kind of digital technology will play an important role in the future of education, especially engineering education. It can provide students with more intuitive and visual multi-sensory stimulation. By allowing access to virtual spaces for learning activities, students can be better guided for deep learning and interest cultivation, and their cognitive and application processes can be accelerated. Therefore, it is of great significance to apply this technology to engineering education courses. This research paper reviews what virtual reality is and the application of virtual reality in engineering education, and analyzes the benefits brought by the application of virtual reality in engineering education. Virtual reality technology represents a positive vision in which it will be the most promising assistive technology for engineering education in the near future.
... This in turn informs future classes, future research and accounting practice. Jakobsen, Nørreklit, Mitchell and Trenca (2019), like Bourguignon (2019), also show that teaching and research are linked by epistemological and theoretical issues. They argue that preparing students to become business partners requires a theoretical framework and propose pragmatic constructivism. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to present an understanding of what it means to infuse teaching with qualitative research and to introduce the papers in the special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an introductory essay that provides a brief overview and analysis of the ideas to be found in the issue.
Findings
The special issue contributes to the understanding of the integration of teaching and research by showing how the authors as actors, as teacher-researchers, bring not just the findings but also reflexivity into the classroom and take knowledge out into both research and teaching. The papers in this issue all consider the agency of teachers in bringing an epistemology into the classroom, and in developing that epistemology.
Originality/value
The papers in this issue go beyond concepts of research-led teaching and the research-teaching nexus towards reflective pieces that develop understanding of epistemology rather than more conventional reports of classroom interventions.
... This in turn informs future classes, future research and accounting practice. Jakobsen, Nørreklit, Mitchell and Trenca (2019), like Bourguignon (2019), also show that teaching and research are linked by epistemological and theoretical issues. They argue that preparing students to become business partners requires a theoretical framework and propose pragmatic constructivism. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to present an understanding of what it means to infuse teaching with qualitative research and to introduce the papers in the special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an introductory essay that provides a brief overview and analysis of the ideas to be found in the issue.
Findings
The special issue contributes to the understanding of the integration of teaching and research by showing how the authors as actors, as teacher-researchers, bring not just the findings but also reflexivity into the classroom and take knowledge out into both research and teaching. The papers in this issue all consider the agency of teachers in bringing an epistemology into the classroom, and in developing that epistemology.
Originality/value
The papers in this issue go beyond concepts of research-led teaching and the research-teaching nexus towards reflective pieces that develop understanding of epistemology rather than more conventional reports of classroom interventions.
Although small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to Nigeria's socioeconomic and political development, most of the country's SMEs no longer operate by their fifth anniversary. Many owners lack knowledge of the financial strategies required for the long-term performance and growth of their enterprise. The aim of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain an in-depth understanding of financial strategies that SMEs owner-managers can adopt to enhance the sustainability of their business operations in Nigeria. This study was grounded in entrepreneurship theory and Porter's model of competitive strategy. Qualitative data from multiple sources, including semi structured interviews, scholarly works, and observational field notes, were collected. The participants were six SME owner-managers who employ fewer than 200 employees within the education and accounting/consulting service sectors. Thematic analysis of data produced five themes that explained the financial strategy practices of SME owner-managers: maintaining strategic financial practices, acquisition of basic financial cum business knowledge, establish sound financial reporting system, articulating challenges of SMEs, and embracing entrepreneurial resilience. The findings revealed the need for SME owner-managers to embrace dynamism in their financial strategy practices. By doing so, SME owner-managers may be able to sustain their businesses, which may promote positive social change through job creation, wealth distribution, technological innovation, grassroots development, and enhancement of gross domestic product.
Purpose
This study aims to address the possibility of integrating some elements of the “radical constructivist” approach to management accounting teaching. It answers the following two questions: to what extent should management accounting educators construct a “radical constructivist” foundation to guide active learning? Then, in which ways can management accounting educators use qualitative methods to facilitate “radical constructivist” education?
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a teaching cycle that implements innovative learning elements, e.g. learning from ordinary people, designed following the principles of “radical constructivism”, to engage students with “externalities” at the centre of their knowledge construction. It adopts an ethnographic approach comprising interviews and participant observation for the data collection, followed by the application of qualitative content and narrative analysis of the data.
Findings
The study findings and reflections illustrate that the majority of students respond positively to radical constructivist learning if the educators can develop an innovative problem-solving and authentic environment that is close to their real lives. The radical constructivist teaching cycle discussed in this study has challenged the mindsets of the management accounting students as it altered the traditional objectivist academic learning approaches that students were familiar with. Its use of qualitative methods facilitated active learning. Student feedback was sought as part of the qualitative design, which provided a constructive mechanism for the students and educators to learn and unlearn from their mistakes. This process enriched the understanding of learners (students) and educators of successful engagement in radical constructivist management accounting education and provides a base upon which to design future teaching cycles.
Originality/value
The paper provides proof of the ability of accounting educators, as change agents, to apply radical constructivist epistemology combined with multiple qualitative research methods by creating new constructive learning structures and cultures associated with innovative deep-learning tasks in management accounting education.
This study uses empirical data to explore the pedagogical aspects of management control teaching in the Financial Times top 100 Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes. Professors teaching the discipline are surveyed on six pedagogical issues: content covered, teaching/learning methods, student's assessment, teaching/learning materials, instructors' appointment, and weight of the course and challenges. The study finds (1) a higher incidence of the provision of management control topics in MBA programmes than what analysis of curricula would suggest; (2) a uniformity in management control topics taught despite that there is no use of any specific theoretical framework; (3) a dominance of case discussion as a teaching method despite its critics; (4) professors in American schools have higher level of autonomy than Europeans in organizing courses; and (5) the outlook of management control teaching in MBA programmes seems to be better in European schools than American.
___________________________________ (2020) Journal of international business education 2020 Vol:15 Pag:191-212
Purpose: The relationship between research and teaching – sometimes referred to as the research-teaching nexus – is an important issue in education literature. However, although it is acknowledged that this question is specific to each discipline, it is rarely addressed in the Management Accounting (MA) literature. Outside MA, the literature focuses on the influence of research on teaching but rarely touches on the influence of teaching on research. This paper has two aims: to enhance the understanding of the research -teaching link in MA and to analyse the link from teaching into research.
Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a reflexive analysis of a case in which the content of a management control course progressively changed over a period of 15 years. We structure our description of the case using Dewey’s concept of inquiry.
Findings: We show first that designing the content of this course was a form of research and produced knowledge. Our analysis also suggests that (i) the influence of research on teaching can take other forms than introducing research results or methods into teaching; (ii) designing teaching content is nurtured not only by scientific considerations, but also by pedagogical considerations and lecturers’ values; and (iii) linking research and teaching raises different issues dependant on stance adopted by MA scholars in their research.
Implications: The academic community should seriously consider that knowledge can be produced in a teaching context, through the design of a teaching content.
Originality/Value: We contribute to an inquiry process by documenting how course content is actually designed, which has not yet been done in the MA literature.
A small number of sociologists of sport have opted to produce what have been defined as autoethnographies or narratives of self. These are highly personalized accounts that draw upon the experiences of the author/researcher for the purposes of extending sociological understanding. Such work is located at the boundaries of disciplinary practices and raises questions as to what constitutes proper research. In this paper, I explore this issue by focusing upon the criteria used by various audiences to pass judgment on an autoethnography/ narrative of self that I submitted to, and eventually had published, in a leading journal. The problems of having inappropriate criteria applied to this work are considered, and the charge of self-indulgence as a regulatory mechanism is discussed. Reactions to a more trusting tale are then used to signal various criteria that might be more relevant to passing judgment upon this kind of tale in the future.
Once again, editors Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S Lincoln have put together a volume that represents the state of the art for the theory and practice of qualitative inquiry. Built on the foundation of the landmark first edition, published in 1994, the second edition is both the bridge and the roadmap to the territory that lies ahead for researchers across the disciplines. The Second Edition is a significant revision; in fact, it is virtually a new work. It features six new chapter topics, including, among others, auto-ethnography, critical race theory, applied ethnography, queer theory, and testimonies. Another fifteen chapters are written by new contributors. And every chapter in the book has been thoroughly revised and updated. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is necessary to re-engage the promise of qualitative research as a generative form of inquiry. The Second Edition of the Handbook reveals how the discourses of qualitative research can be used to imagine and create a free and democratic society. Ground-breaking, thought-provoking, comprehensive and featuring the contributions of a virtual "Who’s Who" in the human sciences, Handbook of Qualitative Research, Second Edition is absolutely an essential text for the library of any scholar interested in the art and science of research.
This paper discusses the basic philosophical assumptions of objectivism and constructivism including their implications for course design, interaction, and evaluation in distance education. First, I provide a brief overview of the construct of interaction as it is used in the field of distance education. Second, I address the major philosophical ideas of objectivism and constructivism as they relate to education. Third, I discuss how curriculum designers from each paradigm design a distance education course. Finally, I compare and contrast the two approaches to distance education course design and provide suggestions for practitioners.
This article constitutes a critique from the inside of constructivist pedagogy. It begins with a short history of constructivist pedagogy and its relationship to constructivist learning theory. It then addresses four issues in the ways in which constructivist pedagogy are being approached in research and practice. The first issue recommends more of a research focus on student learning in classrooms that engage in constructivist pedagogy. The second leads to the suggestion of theory development that provides an understanding and descriptions of more and less effective constructivist teaching. The third centers on the necessarily deep subject matter knowledge required of teachers who adopt constructivist pedagogy; and the difficulty this requirement imposes on elementary teachers who must deal with many subject matter areas. And the fourth issue raises the possibility that the vision of constructivist pedagogy, as presently recommended, if not mandated, locally and nationally, is strongly ideological and may impose, inappropriately, a dominant view of pedagogy on those who wish to operate differently.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to further the debate on relevance in business education by sharing one business school's experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative survey was carried out, reviewed by two independent collaborators. Conclusions drawn from interviews with more than 30 CEOs and HR Directors, from across all industries, provide findings on how business leaders think about higher education in business.
Findings
The results highlight their perspective regarding: how academic programs can add real value in business; what business schools should teach more; and what they should teach less in their MBA programs.
Research limitations/implications
There was a limited sample size of 30 participants. Also. the research is used as a part of a case study being conducted about Business School Lausanne by Prof. Dr J.B.M. Kassarjian, Professor in Management at Babson College, Boston, USA.
Practical implications
A detailed account of an ambitious academic revision provides insights into how entrepreneurship can be applied and lived in the academic world.
Originality/value
This paper examines how a boutique business school in Switzerland has undertaken a profound program revision based on the input and perspectives of business leaders. It demonstrates how key learnings from personally‐conducted interviews were effectively translated into the school's MBA curriculum, thereby transforming not only the program but also the way the school interacts with program participants.
This paper draws attention to the literature in the areas of learning, specifically, cons- tructivism, conceptual change and cognitive development. It emphasizes the contribu- tion of such research to our understanding of the learning process. This literature pro- vides guidelines for teachers, at all levels, in their attempt to have their students achie- ve learning with understanding. Research about the constructive nature of students' learning processes, about students' mental models, and students' misconceptions have important implications for teachers who wish to model scientific reasoning in an effec- tive fashion for their students. This paper aims to communicate this research to tea- chers, textbook authors, and college professors who involved in the preparation of science teachers. This paper is divided into two major parts. The first part concentrates on a critical review of the three most influential learning theories and constructivist view of learning and discusses the foundation upon which the constructivist theory of learning has been rooted. It seeks an answer to the question of "What are some gui- ding principles of constructivist thinking that we must keep in mind when we consider our role as science teachers?". The second part of this paper moves toward describing the nature of students' alternative conceptions, the ways of changing cognitive structu- re, and cognitive aspects of learning and teaching science.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore a number of tensions arising in the presentation of autoethnographical research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a reflexive autoethnographical account of undertaking and publically presenting autoethnographical research.
Findings
The paper problematises the extent and form of disclosure; the voice and representation of the researcher; the difficulties in dealing with sensitive subjects; conflicts between public and private domains; questions of validity; the extent and form of theorisation of autoethnographical narratives; and emotion and performativity in presenting autoethnographical research.
Originality/value
The paper provides an analysis of the potential of autoethnography, while exploring the presentational and performative context of academia.
Purpose
This paper aims to draw attention to a unique paradox concerning doing an autoethnography as a PhD. On the one hand, a student may feel a pull towards revealing a vulnerable, intimate, autoethnographic self, yet on the other hand she may be pushed away from this because the oral/ viva voce examination process may deny the student anonymity. Through the telling of this tale the complexities concerning self‐disclosure and student autoethnography reveal are explored.
Design/methodology/approach
The tale is autoethnographic: a fictionalised account based on real events and co‐constructed from substantial field notes, personal diaries, e‐mails, and reports.
Findings
This paper contributes to relational ethics concerned with self‐disclosure and the “I” of a reveal, and highlight the possibilities for developing Medford's notion of mindful slippage as a strategy for removing highly personal and possibly harmful elements within student autoethnography.
Research limitations/implications
The paper provides a preliminary theoretical framework that has not been empirically tested and is situated within “introspective” autoethnographic research.
Originality/value
The paper takes an innovative approach to autoethnography, addressing ethical value systems specifically within a PhD context.
Describes a residential training course sponsored by the NASA Classroom of the Future to help teachers learn to use computer-based educational tools and explore constructivist instructional approaches. Hypothesized that creating a living-and-learning environment for the training would foster rapid changes in teachers' epistemological beliefs. (Contains 41 references.)(Author/LRW)
Two small-scale qualitative studies are presented that explore the experiences of final-year undergraduate students in developing understanding of the process of revision for final examinations and of planning and writing term papers. Interviews with 23 students were supplemented with written descriptions from a further 11 students. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed to identify categories of description. The experience of understanding was described by students in similar ways, emphasizing coherence, provisional wholeness, and confidence in explaining. However, contrasting forms of understanding were also identified, which differed in terms of the breadth, depth, and structure that students tried to develop. Those who had reached a deep level of understanding also reported being able to perceive and review frameworks for their understandings in ways suggesting an awareness of knowledge objects experienced in a quasi-sensory way. Similar perceptions were reported in researching and writing term papers, indicating that structures of knowledge objects serve to control explanations as they evolve during the writing process.
There is now a widely held view that efforts should be made to actively bring research and teaching together. This is a response to many changes in higher education together with a number of research findings that have challenged the relationship between teaching and research. One of the consequences is growing interest in what has been called 'research-led' or 'research-enhanced' teaching. But what do research-led teaching and teaching-led research look like? What form do they take? Does research-led teaching necessarily require researchers or can anybody do it? In this workshop I present two initiatives I have been involved in where I have been endeavouring to answer these questions. At the University of Sydney, in September 2001, a Showcase of Scholarly Inquiry in Teaching and Learning was held to encourage discussion and debate about research-led teaching. The papers, workshops and posters presented provided a beginning map of the nature and scope of research-led teaching. Following the Showcase, I visited the UK and built on this map by carrying out investigative work regarding best practice in research-led teaching, talking to academics, academic developers and managers in UK universities and in many of the 25 specialist Learning and Teaching Support Networks, and following up examples of best practice. In the workshop I will present the model of research-led teaching that I have developed as a consequence of this work. I will then encourage participants to share examples of how research-led teaching is being practiced in their institutions with the hope that together we might develop the model further. Workshop objectives: I hope that in this workshop participants might come to more fully understand the varieties and forms of research-led teaching and consider why teaching-led research is also important.
For the past 35 years I have been teaching management accounting to undergraduate students, graduate students, and M.B.A. students. My approach to the topic has evolved over the years as my understanding of management accounting and of management decision making has expanded. The real world of business has always fascinated me, and I take every opportunity I can to visit companies to view their operations and to talk with managers about the problems and issues they face. Management accountants at companies like Caterpillar, Inc., Nortel, Dresser (now a division of Halliburton Co.), and numerous other companies have helped me to learn about the ways that management accounting works in organizations. The more I learn about the practice of management accounting the more dissatisfied I become with what I teach in my courses, so my class material is constantly evolving to accommodate my ever-changing understanding of management accounting. As my knowledge of management accounting deepens I find myself discussing fewer techniques and procedures and more policy issues. This paper allows me to share with the readers of Issues in Accounting Education some of the things I have learned, and I appreciate the opportunity the editor, David Stout, has provided me to expose my ideas to the readers of this journal. The view I offer on the past, the present and the future of management accounting may annoy some, delight others, and bore several, but hopefully they will cause the readers to think about how we will train the next generation of management accountants.
This article proposes a model that integrates the traditionally conflicting objectivist and constructivist approaches to instructional
design. I argue that these two approaches are complementary rather than oppositional. I present and analyze two learning programs
in order to show how learning events can contain both objectivist and constructivist elements. By plotting the two approaches
at right angles to one another, I produce four quadrants which I then discuss and explain. What fallows after that is a discussion
of comments that were received from members of a prominent instructional technology mailing list about the feasibility of
the model. Finally I present two case studies. The first describes a two-day workshop that was designed to be high on both
axes, while the second shows how the model could be used as a decision-making tool. Initial findings suggest that it is both
feasible and useful to plot objectivism and constructivism at right angles to one another rather than at opposite ends of
a continuum.
Constructivism in practice is a challenging endeavor that invites teachers and students to engage in problems that elicit uncertainty. This article investigates the relationship between preferences for constructivist approaches and other classroom behaviors that influence the development of future teachers. The theoretical premise for this relationship is that preferences for constructivist activities are associated with other behaviors that are characterized as social risks. Preservice teachers who are 'risk averse' may engage in behaviors that perpetuate their conservatism, leaving them ill prepared for current developments in educational reform. In addition to proposing this unique theoretical question, evidence is presented showing that social risk aversion is behaviorally pervasive, influencing preservice teachers' willingness to participate in classroom discussions, their behavior in a socially competitive game and their natural preference for inquiry-based mathematics problems. Given this pervasiveness, teachers who are 'shy' of contemporary educational reform may unknowingly socially insulate themselves against it. Support strategies are suggested along with appropriate directions for future research and reflection by teacher educators.
In this paper we discuss, on the basis of system theory, the rigour-relevance gap in management research and the proposal to overcome it. From a system theory perspective, social systems are self-referential or autopoietic, which means that communication elements of one system, such as science, cannot be authentically integrated into communication of other systems, such as the system of a business organization. Social systems can only irritate - provoke - each other, i.e. alter conditions in such a way that other systems are forced to respond. Because of the differences between management science and practice it is impossible to assess relevance of research output within the system of science. On the basis of our analysis we show that neither action research nor Mode 2 research nor recent approaches to collaborative research can succeed in producing research that is rigorous as well as relevant. Researchers and practitioners cannot collaboratively produce research, they can only irritate each other. However, sometimes irritations or provocations turn out inspiring. Copyright (c) Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2009.
This paper explores the production of introductory financial accounting textbooks in the UK. Despite being a pervasive pedagogical device (see Brown and Guilding, 1993, Accounting Education: an international journal, 4(2) pp. 211-218), there has been little research carried out which examines the role or contents of textbooks in accounting education. This is a surprising gap in the literature when one considers the numerous concerns that have been expressed regarding the content of accounting education, the values which it projects and the type of student which it produces. Drawing on contemporary research into textbooks, this paper considers accounting textbooks to be 'cultural artifacts' which may reflect the cultural, ideological, and political interests of particular groups in society. In this regard, introductory financial textbooks have the potential to reinforce cultural homogeneity through the advancement of shared attitudes. This study is based upon 12 semi-structured interviews with both textbook authors and commissioning editors. Results indicate that the contents of textbooks are the product of complex social and cultural relations. Whilst conflicts and negotiations may characterize the production process, the knowledge that is considered most 'legitimate' tends to be mandated, either directly or indirectly, by professional accounting bodies through course accreditation requirements. Furthermore, this knowledge reflects wider cultural issues and assumptions regarding the structure of society and of how it should be organized.
Social constructivist perspectives focus on the interdependence of social and individual processes in the co-construction of knowledge. After the impetus for understanding the influence of social and cultural factors on cognition is reviewed, mechanisms hypothesized to account for learning from this perspective are identified, drawing from Piagetian and Vygotskian accounts. The empirical research reviewed illustrates (a) the application of institutional analyses to investigate schooling as a cultural process, (b) the application of interpersonal analyses to examine how interactions promote cognition and learning, and (c) discursive analyses examining and manipulating the patterns and opportunities in instructional conversation. The review concludes with a discussion of the application of this perspective to selected contemporary issues, including: acquiring expertise across domains, assessment, educational equity, and educational reform.
This review of the accounting education literature includes 103 articles published during 2017 in six journals: (1) Journal of Accounting Education, (2) Accounting Education, (3) Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, (4) Global Perspectives on Accounting Education, (5) Issues in Accounting Education, and (6) The Accounting Educators’ Journal. We update 12 prior accounting education literature reviews by organizing and summarizing contributions to the accounting education literature made during 2017. Articles are categorized into five sections corresponding to traditional knowledge bases: (1) curriculum and instruction, (2) instruction by content area, (3) educational technology, (4) students, and (5) faculty. Research rigor of the empirical articles is discussed and critiqued. Suggestions for research in all areas are presented. Articles classified as instructional resources and cases published in the same six journals during 2017 are listed in appendices categorized by the relevant content area.
We analyzed publication trends in six accounting education journals published during the 20-year period 1997-2016: (1) Accounting Education, (2) Advances in Accounting Education, (3) Global Perspectives on Accounting Education, (4) Issues in Accounting Education, (5) Journal of Accounting Education, and (6) The Accounting Educators' Journal. Our objective is to inform academicians about the overall development of accounting education research, empirical article topical trends, the extant knowledge base, and directions for future accounting education scholarship. Our analysis shows that the number of articles per year has increased over time and that the proportion of articles in four categories (empirical, descriptive, instructional resources, and cases) has changed over the 20-year period. The body of literature we analyzed shows the beginnings of a knowledge base that can be used as the foundation for future accounting education research.
What is the most important factor influencing human learning? Different instructional theories give very different answers to this question, because they take different perspectives on learning and thus focus on other desired learning outcomes, other methods affecting learning processes, and other conditions under which learning takes place. This chapter describes how eight prevailing research paradigms have influenced and still strongly influence theory development in the field of educational communications and technology. According to the perspective of Gestalt psychology, the most important factor influencing learning is insight and understanding; according to behaviorism and neo-behaviorism, it is reinforcement; according to developmental psychology, it is the learner’s stage of cognitive development; according to cultural-historical theory, it is interaction with the world; according to information processing theory, it is active and deep processing of new information; according to cognitive symbolic theory, it is what the learner already knows; according to cognitive resource models, it is the limited processing capacity of the human mind, and according to social constructivism, it is the social construction of meaning. It is argued that research is typically done within one particular paradigm, but that researchers should be conscious of the fact that paradigms heavily affect their research methods and findings. Moreover, researchers should be open to alternative theories and paradigms because new developments often take place at the interface between paradigms.
Elementary teachers often struggle with how to design and implement inquiry instruction with their students. For many, just understanding what inquiry is can be difficult--let alone designing activities that support high levels of inquiry. In this article, the authors present a continuum by which to evaluate an activity's level of inquiry. Then, using a fifth-grade unit exploring sinking and floating, they describe examples of each type of inquiry from low-level structured inquiry to high-level open inquiry. (Contains 1 figure and lists 1 online resource.) (http://www.nsta.org/publications/browse_journals.aspx?action=issue&thetype=all&id=10.2505/3/sc08_046_02)
This article outlines how decision sciences instructors, by pairing Liberal Learning (LL) philosophy with Social Constructivist Pedagogy (SCP), can lead the way in transforming business education. It outlines how these educators can cultivate more critical thinking and creativity in their classrooms in order to prepare students for the ‘real problems’ they will face in today's complex and global world. Instructors can accomplish this when they adjust ‘how’ they teach (rather than ‘what’ they teach) so that students become active learners rather than passive listeners. The purpose of the article is to outline the outcomes advocated by the LL philosophy (Colby, Ehrlich, Sullivan, & Dolle, 2011), and describe how SCP, a pedagogical process, can help decision sciences instructors achieve these outcomes (Vygotsky, 1978). Instructors essentially become facilitators of discussion and dialogue rather than the sole distributor of knowledge in the classroom. Two sample implementations of SCP and LL are also discussed.
Teaching the conception of management accounting systems
In the teaching of management accounting, problems in relation with the conception of the system itself are usually neglected. In firms, this may have damageable consequences. Moreover, without a proper analysis of the process of conception, students are not able to make sense of the discipline and therefore are unable to perform an authentic learning. This paper presents the main points to be studied along the three phases of the conception of a management accounting system : fore-project, designing and implementation, with illustrations through a lot of examples mainly drawn from our practice of students’ tutoring in varied organisations. The main concern is not to teach methods ready to be used but to incite our students to ask the relevant questions, to make the necessary arbitrages with regard to constraints of simplicity, readability and perenniality of the management accounting systems and finally to be able to implement devices allowing the feeding of the system with reliable data.
Business schools are walking a tightrope between the academic side of business and the practitioner side. In reaction to early criticism of being trade schools, business schools have emphasized the academic nature of business education. The pendulum has now moved in the direction toward greater inclusion of real-world experience. As a result, many business schools are hiring business practitioners to teach courses. We examine the current state of business education and the tension that exists in many business schools today concentrating on the use of executive professors in the business school. Recommendations are provided regarding the use of executive professors.
This article investigates identity issues in the accounting sciences teaching and research profession. Teacher, and in the same time, researcher, in search of identity, the scholar in accounting, management control and auditing, faces several dilemmas regarding to epistemological and didactic dimensions. On one hand, as relay of accounting practices, he can identify himself as a mimetic traductor of accounting practices and as an agent of legitimating. On the other hand, he can be considered as a constructor of accounting theories. In search of theoretical lectures, this is in the economics and organizationals fundamentals, which the researcher can construct the bases of his teaching.
The last forty years of social science research have produced over 12,000 articles on priming. The range, complexity, and novelty of priming effects are hard to comprehend, let alone explain, using a single model or perspective. In this review, we discuss content priming and process priming effects. We then propose an integrative model that can account for the combined results.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to cover the emergence, history, and development of French business schools. It is a reflection on organizational tensions, more particularly within the Grandes Ecoles system, that the challenge of research has created following the schools internationalization of the last 20 years.
Design/methodology/approach
– Institutional theory, social dynamics, and history provide the frame of analysis.
Findings
– Internationalization of the French business schools context has transformed the rules of the game. Ability to produce international quality publications has become a competitive necessity to attract faculty and students. Research is now a priority to gain international credibility, hire new faculty and perform successfully in the accreditation process. The shift from teaching institutions to international and research‐orientated business schools has created tensions and new challenges that need to be met.
Originality/value
– The paper provides an historical account of the French business schools evolution and of their new research imperative. It stresses the governance and strategic issues this new imperative creates.
Un vif intérêt est manifesté à l’égard du modèle du professionnel réflexif pour la formation initiale des enseignants et se traduit par la mise en oeuvre de dispositifs de formation considérés comme favorisant l’apprentissage de dispositions réflexives. Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons particulièrement à deux d’entre eux : le mémoire professionnel et les groupes d’accompagnement à l’analyse de pratiques. S’ils se justifient parleurs fondements conceptuels, leurs effets sont loin d’être systématiques et mériteraient d’être mieux étudiés. C’est ce que nous montrons dans un premier temps. Puis nous tentons d’aborder la notion de réflexivité avec un regard plus critique, soulignant notamment sa dimension sociopolitique. Ceci nous conduit à plaider en faveur d’une articulation entre analyse didactique et analyse sociopsychologique pour l’étude des situations de formation professionnelle.
Behavioral accounting research (BAR) has a long history in management accounting. It has not had as significant a presence in the management accounting courses. It has tended to be relegated to the responsibility accounting chapter in textbooks. Thus, the extent to which behavioral materials appeared in a course depended on the interests of the instructor. It can safely be described as a matter of taste. In this paper the history of management accounting dating back to the end of World War II is divided into three periods. In each period, the extent of behavioral materials in the management accounting curriculum is reviewed. These periods, called the “cost accounting,” “modern management accounting,” and “postmodern management accounting” periods, reflect increasing emphasis on behavioral materials in the management accounting courses. The paper focuses on the reasons why the demand for behavioral material in the management accounting curriculum is likely to increase and offers conjectures about what form...
There are two widespread beliefs among management accountants. Management accounting should be practical, and education for doing the job the management accountant actually does should include topics which would require extensive training in theory. The two beliefs are not inconsistent. Management accounting education starting from theory and moving to its application could be far more practical than education without theory in applying predefined techniques.
Within the study of teacher training, it is generally accepted that a teacher's behaviour and success in the classroom is influenced by their personal beliefs. This paper discusses teachers' pedagogical beliefs, domain-specific beliefs and conceptions of teaching and learning. We outline empirical results from various studies which explore lecturers' and teachers' perceptions of vocational training in the field of accounting education; then present an empirical study in German commercial schools, conducted via surveys (n= 225 teachers in commercial schools) and in-depth follow-up interviews (n = 21 teachers). Using cluster analysis we identify different teacher types or belief systems regarding teaching and learning in accounting education: predominantly constructivist or instructional. Of particular interest is a mixed type, which includes both paradigms and emphasises the importance of structured lessons and systematic teaching. Verbal data allow a more detailed analysis of the different pedagogical orientations. We established significant relationships between teachers' beliefs, including domain-specific beliefs, self reports on the organisation of classroom activities and teaching patterns. All in all, the findings show a dominance of instructional ideas and teacher-centred teaching practices in the domain of accounting.
We have argued elsewhere that Enquiry-Based Learning methods are conceptually appropriate for Literary Studies courses when adapted to meet the local needs of the discipline (see Hutchings, B. and O'Rourke, K., 2002, 2004). We defined our procedures in these essays as Problem-Based Learning in order to highlight the conceptual basis of the learning method and because we removed all the conventional frameworks of courses, including reading-lists and syllabus (except as defined by the course title). Thus the problems themselves were the sole drivers of the learning. However, Enquiry-Based Learning is a more flexible and appropriate term, and can readily include forms of Problem-Based Learning. We gathered qualitative student response data from the implementation of Enquiry- Based Learning methods in third-year English Literature courses. Five main issues emerged: general anxiety about the introduction of innovatory methods; group dynamics; the absence of a familiar framework; continual pressure; and the rigidity of conventional Problem-Based Learning methods. Each of these is illustrated with quotations from student feedback, and each is accompanied by a description of the ways in which the issue has been addressed, also with illustrative student feedback.
This paper examines a case of accounting education change in the context of increased interest in ethical, social, and environmental accountability, presenting a reflexive case study of a new university accounting subject incorporating social and critical perspectives. Foundational pedagogical principles and key aspects of curriculum are outlined. The pedagogy draws on the integration of humanistic and formative education (principally based on Gramscian and Freirean approaches) and deep and elaborative learning. Two key aspects of curriculum and pedagogy are analysed. First, a curriculum based on a broad conception of accounting and accountability as power-laden social processes, drawing on a range of research literature. Second, the adoption of an authentic, supportive, and collegial team teaching approach. Students' feedback relating to identified issues is presented. The paper contributes to the renewal of the social and ethical worth of accounting education, concluding that deep accounting educational change encompasses both the content and practice of classroom activity and changes in the self-consciousness of staff and students.
This article examines the "journey" of management accounting education over the past 50 years, evaluates the state of the field today, and presents my personal observations about teaching approaches. I observe that we have seen a substantial addition of management accounting courses to business school curricula, and changes in what was conventionally known as "cost accounting" courses, over the past 50 years. In recent years, innovative topics have come primarily from practice and from empirical research about practice. The introduction of these innovations into courses, and the expansion of management accounting in business school curricula, has resulted in a field that is alive and well in academia. The future demand for management accounting courses may be in some jeopardy, however, because students might not see good job opportunities in management accounting. Management accounting educators must address these problems to avoid enrollment declines in management accounting. The way we teach management accounting can increase the value of our students and mitigate possible enrollment declines. By focusing on problem-solving skills and the organizational context of decisions, rather than the "facts" of management accounting methods, we can educate students to be creative problem solvers who add substantial value to their organizations.
Abstract As a reaction to recent corporate scandals, corporate law and accounting regulations have recently been modified in German-speaking countries. Despite changing corporate contexts and agendas, accounting research in these countries has been comparatively silent on issues of corporate governance. In this paper, we discuss this limited response, focusing particularly on the field of management accounting. In German-speaking countries, management accounting is conceived of in a specific way (usually referred to as Controlling). The traditions of such a practice and the associated academic school of thought have made it difficult for researchers to consider issues of corporate governance and internal control in more empirical depth. Pointing to the importance of investigating the actual use of accounting systems and, thus, the social and institutional context of accounting, we propose a strategy for research and education that would allow for more comprehensive insights into the role that (management) accounting might play in corporate scandals.
Interdisciplinary accounting research (IAR) has not impacted the North American academic accounting research community to any material extent. This commentary is intended to provide a North American perspective on why this situation exists and what might be done to change it. The commentary explains that in the eyes of so-called “mainstream” researchers IAR research appears to suffer from one or more of three main problems—lack of relevance, questionable research contributions, and/or poor communication of findings. It is difficult to discern the contributions of even the best IAR research. The commentary concludes by providing suggestions for making the contributions of IAR research more easily recognizable by mainstream researchers.
This paper outlines my teaching philosophy for the Accounting Theory subject. A Critical Theory and Postmodernist approach is recommended, which makes full use of non-accounting “tangential” material [Boyce G. Critical accounting education: teaching and learning outside the circle. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2004;15(4/5):565–86] and material from popular culture [Kell P. A teacher's tool kit: an introduction to social theory. In: Allen J, editor. Sociology of education: possibilities and practices. 3rd ed. Southbank, Melbourne: Social Science Press; 2004. p. 29–51 [chapter 2]; Nilan P. ‘Reality TV’? School students and popular culture. In: Allen J, editor. Sociology of education: possibilities and practices. 3rd ed. Southbank, Melbourne: Social Science Press; 2004. p. 306–21 [chapter 14]]. The paper discusses some classroom interactive activities, as well as interview results from interviews conducted with 11 international students and one Australian student at Charles Sturt University. The teaching approach proposed in this paper is to conduct classroom interactive activities which study theories and research results from a range of disciplines in order to illustrate key points that apply equally as much to accounting theories and the accounting research process, e.g. the Positive/Normative dichotomy. Classroom interactive activities are discussed in class using the “dialogical approach” to education recommended by Freire [Freire P. Pedagogy of the oppressed. London: Pelican; 1996], Kaidonis [Kaidonis MA. Teaching and learning critical accounting using media texts as reflexive devices: conditions for transformative action or reinforcing the status quo? Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2004;15(4/5):667–73], Boyce [Boyce G. Critical accounting education: teaching and learning outside the circle. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2004;15(4/5):565–86], and Thomson [Thomson I, Bebbington J. It doesn’t matter what you teach? Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2004;15(4/5):609–28]. Once students gain experience in studying material from outside accounting, the interview results suggest that they are then better motivated [Wynder M. Creative management accountants: short case studies to promote creativity in the classroom. In: Paper presented at the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand annual conference; 2006] and better equipped to study and evaluate accounting theories.
The development of the corporate university is an element in the suite of “economically rational” public policy changes promulgated in recent decades. Working from a position that the practice of accounting is centrally implicated in these changes, it is contended in this paper that accounting, and accounting education, can in fact play a part in challenging these positions. Extant accounting research is sufficiently well-developed such that we are aware of the conflicts and contradictions both within accounting and flowing from the practice of the discipline, yet the effect of this body of knowledge on the content of teaching and learning within the accounting classroom remains limited. By and large, accounting education continues to be constrained within narrowly defined, but mis-conceived, disciplinary boundaries, focusing on the techniques and “skills” of accounting practice.In outlining a case for broadening the accounting education curriculum, this paper adopts the heuristic of “tangential thinking” as a means of transcending narrowly constructed disciplinary boundaries. In doing so, it is suggested that accounting education reform needs to go well beyond the putative reform agenda of the organised professional accounting bodies.The exploration of tangents lead to areas of knowledge that initially seem to be outside of accounting, but which nevertheless have an integral connection to the realities of the practice of the discipline. The paper outlines a case for tangential thinking in teaching and learning activities in the accounting classroom, within extant accreditation and curricular arrangements. Teaching and learning “outside the circle” in this manner is suggested as a way to make accounting education relevant in its socio-historical context and, particularly, relevant to the lived experience of students.
Experience and Educationis the best concise statement on education ever published by John Dewey, the man acknowledged to be the pre-eminent educational theorist of the twentieth century. Written more than two decades after Democracy and Education(Dewey's most comprehensive statement of his position in educational philosophy), this book demonstrates how Dewey reformulated his ideas as a result of his intervening experience with the progressive schools and in the light of the criticisms his theories had received. Analysing both "traditional" and "progressive" education, Dr. Dewey here insists that neither the old nor the new education is adequate and that each is miseducative because neither of them applies the principles of a carefully developed philosophy of experience. Many pages of this volume illustrate Dr. Dewey's ideas for a philosophy of experience and its relation to education. He particularly urges that all teachers and educators looking for a new movement in education should think in terms of the deeped and larger issues of education rather than in terms of some divisive "ism" about education, even such an "ism" as "progressivism." His philosophy, here expressed in its most essential, most readable form, predicates an American educational system that respects all sources of experience, on that offers a true learning situation that is both historical and social, both orderly and dynamic.
This paper considers the possibilities of accounting education being used in its transformative capacity. The use of “realworld events” as presented by the media is used as an educational resource to bridge theory and practice. It is argued that the use of media texts as a practicum to enable praxis, must be reflexive. Whilst the opportunities for emancipation are presented, the possibility to be impositional was considered. This reflexive stance is carried through to examine whether transformative action is indeed possible or whether there is a danger of reinforcing the status quo.
This paper explores the relationship between research and practice in management accounting. It reviews the causes of a gap in communication between the researcher and practitioner constituencies and makes some proposals on how closure of this gap might be commenced.
Enhancing the quality of learning through reserach-led teaching”, Unpublished paper, available at: www.researchgate.net/publication/228978625_Enhancing_the_quality_of_learning_through_research-led_teaching
- A Brew
Teaching management control systems: an ethical trap?
- A Bourguignon
Bourguignon, A. (2009), "Teaching management control systems: an ethical trap?", Paper
presented at the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association (EAA),
May, Tampere.
Instruments de gestion et comportements [Management systems and behavior]
- Course syllabus
strategic learning") to capture the centrality of student's efforts and organization that assumingly will provide a good mark. Depending on the assessment procedures, strategic learning can draw on either deep or surface learning
- Entwistle
Entwistle (1995) also describes a third category ("strategic learning") to capture the centrality of
student's efforts and organization that assumingly will provide a good mark. Depending on the
assessment procedures, strategic learning can draw on either deep or surface learning.