In the aftermath of the Bologna process: exploring the master students’ perceptions on accounting in two portuguese higher education institutions

Abstract

This paper explores how accounting is perceived (supported on Geiger and Ogilby (2000) paper) and which factors may influence these perceptions by students of seven master's programmes taught in two different Portuguese higher education institutions. These aims are important in the context of the impact of the Bologna process in the Portuguese Higher Education System. The study also explores whether those perceptions are associated with the students' performance in the accounting course. This is the first study (as far as the authors know) on students' perceptions on accounting in Portugal, but also one of the few in a context of master's programmes (advanced graduation) in the accounting education literature. A survey was conducted at two different moments in time to explore how master's students' perceptions evolve through the semester. The results of this study show a change in perceptions over the semester. At first, accounting course was perceived as very important in the master programme, as helping the professional career and rewarding, and therefore students were very motivated. At the end, all the perceptions values decreased in general. However, student's perception on lecturer's role in making them understand the subject and its utility increased significantly as well they enjoyed learning accounting. The results also show controversial evidence of student's characteristics as influencing students' perceptions on accounting. The students' perceptions have a marginal effect on the final grade, in which male and female students perform significantly different.