WORLDS APART: STUDENTS' EXPERIENCES OF LEARNING INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNTING

Abstract

This paper argues that, whilst a substantial amount of educational research has been conducted within the introductory accounting curriculum, there is scope for alternative research founded on a particular view of learning, that of social constructivism. In this view, learning is seen to be a response to a student's perception of, or way of experiencing, his or her particular situation rather than the outcome of a particular personality trait or a conditioned biographical response. This argument is supported by the presentation of the findings of a phenomenographic study into students' experiences of learning introductory accounting within the United Kingdom undergraduate curriculum. This qualitative interview-based research reveals two contrasting worlds of accounting: for most students it is a world of detachment and for only a few is it a world of engagement. Drawing on these findings, the paper proposes that an awareness of the nature of the student experience may provide a new way of viewing the introductory accounting curriculum and a new agenda for future research.