Accounting students' experience of an improved strategy of feedback on assessment

Abstract

Higher education institutions in South Africa are experiencing the effects of massification and diversification of the student body, necessitating students to take more responsibility for the management of their own learning. The education of chartered accountants in South Africa reflects this reality. Feedback on assignments and formative assessments is regarded as a key mechanism to facilitate students' development as independent learners. The practical logistics of providing one-on-one feedback to an ever-increasing number of students necessitate a concerted change in feedback practice. The goal of this article is to report on the experience of undergraduate accounting students regarding the revised and more detailed system of feedback on assignments and formative assessments that was introduced by the authors. The researchers are of the opinion that the questionnaire cannot be tested at other universities, unless the total approach to feedback is instituted and supported. The research is underpinned by the theoretical framework of self-directed learning. Pragmatism and a mixed methods methodology is the relevant research paradigm underlying this inquiry and the concurrent triangulation approach is considered appropriate to this investigation. The study found that students were of the opinion that the new form of feedback on assessment enabled them to identify typical mistakes, recognise their individual strengths and weaknesses, gain from constructive criticism and conduct regular self-assessment. The quantitative inquiry clearly showed that students were overwhelmingly satisfied and impressed with the features of the revised strategy of feedback. However, the peer-assessment feature of the strategy was not received as positively, as students expressed anxiety in assessing their peers. The study has proven that a concerted change in focus could assist in student self-assessment and self-directedness.