Research-based teaching or teaching-based research

Abstract

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. The authors structure their description of the case using Dewey’s concept of inquiry. Findings This paper first shows that designing the content of this course was a form of research and it produced knowledge. This analysis also suggests that the influence of research on teaching can take other forms than introducing research results or methods into teaching; designing teaching content is nurtured by not only scientific considerations but also pedagogical considerations and lecturers’ values; and linking research and teaching raises different issues dependent on the stance adopted by MA scholars in their research. Research limitations/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 This paper contributes to an inquiry process by documenting how course content is actually designed, which has not yet been done in the MA literature.