Evaluating pedagogy in educating business majors: an empirical analysis of teaching accounting without debits and credits
-
Author(s)Atul RaiLink to ORCID Index: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7813-6117
,
Craig SisnerosLink to ORCID Index: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7769-7473
-
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/afc.02(1).2018.02
-
Article InfoVolume 2 2018-2019, Issue #1, pp. 15-26
- 1591 Views
-
106 Downloads
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
An upper-level intermediate accounting course taught at two large mid-west universities in the United States provides a natural experimental setting to examine whether teaching debits/credits in the introductory financial accounting course matters. Students in the upper-level course fall into two groups: those who learned debits/credits in the introductory course and those who weren’t. The performance of both groups is evaluated during the semester while they take the upper level accounting course. Regression results show that the prior knowledge of debits/credits offers only a mild advantage in the first mid-term exam, but not thereafter. Results also indicate that grade point average (standardized tests like ACT scores) are a good (not a good) predictor of the performance in the upper-level accounting class. These results suggest that teaching debits and credits in the introductory accounting course does not provide any advantage in learning the material of upper-level accounting course.
- Keywords
-
JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)A22, B40, M41
-
References15
-
Tables5
-
Figures0
-
- Table 1. Data collection
- Table 2. Summary statistics
- Table 3. Regression results with the first midterm exam scores (EXAM1) as the dependent variable
- Table 4. Regression results with the second midterm exam scores (EXAM2) as the dependent variable
- Table 5. Regression results with the final exam scores (FINAL_EXAM) as the dependent variable
-
- Abesekera, I. (2015). Student preferences for instructional methods in an accounting curriculum. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 27(3), 310-319.
- Abott, J. I., & Palatnik, B. R. (2018). Students’ perceptions of their first accounting class: implications for instructors. Accounting Education, 27(1), 72-93.
- Albrecht, W. S., & Sack, R. J. (2001). The Perilous Future of Accounting Education. The CPA Journal, 16-23.
- Alwis, D., Abdul-Rahim, J., Franklin, E., Sangster, M., & Stoner, G. (2013). Using Pacioli’s Pegadogy and medieval texts in today’s introductory accounting course. Journal of Accounting Education, 32(1), 16-35.
- Baldwin, B. A., & Ingram, R. W. (1991). Rethinking the objectives and content of elementary accounting. Journal of Accounting Education, 9(1), 1-14.
- Basioudis, I. G., & Lange, P. A. (2009). An assessment of the learning benefits of using a Web-based learning environment when teaching accounting. Advances in Accounting, 25(1), 13-19.
- Bernardi, R. A. & Bean, D. F. (1999). Preparer versus user introductory sequence: The impact on performance in Intermediate Accounting I. Journal of Accounting Education, 17(2-3), 141-156.
- Buckhaults, J., & Fisher, D. (2011). Trends in Accounting Education - Decreasing Accounting Anxiety and Promoting New Methods. Journal of Education for Business, 86(1), 31-35.
- Colon, R., Badua, F., & Torres, B. F. (2015). Techniques for closing the loop in accounting pedagogy. Business Education Innovation Journal, 7(2), 102-106.
- Ingram, R. W. (1998). A note on teaching debits and credits in elementary accounting. Issues in Accounting Education, 13(2), 411-415.
- Knechel, W. R., & Rand, R. S. Jr. (1994). Will the AECC’s course delivery recommendations work in introductory accounting courses? Some preliminary evidence. Journal of Accounting Education, 12(3), 175-191.
- Linsmeier, T. (1996). Securities and Exchange Commission: Research Teaching and Career opportunities. Accounting Horizons, 10(3), 130-136.
- Pincus, K. V. (1997). Is teaching debits and credits essential in elementary accounting? Issues in Accounting Education, 12(2), 575-579.
- Sugahara, S., & Boland, G. (2006). The effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in the accounting classroom. Accounting Education, 15(4), 391-403.
- Vangermeersch, R. G. (1997). Dropping debit and credits in elementary accounting: A huge disservice to students. Issues in Accounting Education, 12(2), 581-583.
