Problem Based Learning in Accounting: Where Are We Now?

Abstract

Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a pedagogical approach to teaching content knowledge through structured or unstructured problems. The medical education literature is replete with its uses and effectiveness in teaching and learning medical curriculum for nearly five decades. PBL has started to emerge in accounting education context over the last two decades but its progress is rather slow compared to the medical or other disciplines. This paper examines the available evidence on PBL over the last two decades in accounting education context and synthesizes the progress of this approach in teaching and learning of accounting curriculum. The paper then evaluates the achieved outcomes that emerged from the synthesis and compares these achievements against the calls from different stakeholders to reform accounting curriculum to the changing demands in accounting education and practices.