Do Accounting Textbooks Inculcate Global Mindsets: An Analysis of Textbooks Adopted in Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the content of introductory financial accounting (IFA) textbooks to answer the questions: (1) do the textbooks inculcate global mindsets? (2) How and the extent to which the textbooks reflect global mindsets? We analyzed the textbooks by attentively read the texts, followed by an in-depth discussion among the researchers to establish major representations of the texts. Findings from the analysis indicate that instead of promoting a broader view of the world that might instill and foster global mindsets in business students, the textbooks narrow-mindedly inculcate only a single perspective, which dominantly draws on the ethical values and assumptions of Anglo-American capitalism. Consequently, students are deprived of a critical understanding of the subject as well as denying them from developing a mindset required by the global business environments. Thus, this paper calls for recasting the presentation of accounting knowledge within IFA textbooks by inculcating multiplicity rather than uniformity to develop cognitive complexity. Moreover, accounting educators should provide students supplementary readings that offer alternative frameworks for more critical reflection. These recommendations are a way forward to improve teaching international business (IB) education in business schools by facilitating an in-depth understanding of IB in individual business functional disciplines.