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Purpose – The individual characteristics of students can have a strong influence on the success of the adopted innovations in terms of their transferability and sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to compare the motivations and approaches to learning on degrees with differing vocational components. Design/methodology/approach – Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and approaches to learning framework were used as theoretical background. Questionnaires were used to generate data. The sample was composed by 270 students enroled on differing degrees in term of motivation (accounting and nursing). Findings – The results reveal differences in the approaches to learning and motivation between nursing and accounting students. Nursing degree seem to attract more internally motivated students, presenting significantly higher scores in terms of deep approach and lower scores on surface approach. Significant relationships where found between motivation and approaches. Research limitations/implications – Data are obtained from students studying at a specific university in two degrees. Practical implications – The result suggest that different degrees could attract students with different motivations and approaches to learning. Educators must be aware of which type of students are being attracted to their classrooms, because the inconsistencies between the students’ motives and approaches, the way the contents are presented, the pedagogy and the assessment system could result in poorer learning and failure to transfer or sustain innovations. Originality/value – This paper adds to the very scarce literature linking motivation and approaches. The implications for curriculum design and delivery and specifically for assessment design are of interest for educators.

PurposeDespite the institutional calls to include the development of non-technical skills as objectives in accounting curriculum and the attempts to do so, a gap between the level of skills exhibited by graduates and those needed to succeed as a professional is still perceived. One of the possible causes could be students' overconfidence, defined as a very optimistic assessment of their own abilities. The main objective of the paper is to assess the existence of overconfidence.Design/methodology/approachTwo samples, students and employers were surveyed regarding the exhibited level of accounting graduates in a set of 22 non-technical skills, highlighted as relevant in the literature. This enabled a comparison of the opinions of employers with the perceptions of students concerning the demonstrated level of such skills.FindingsThe results of this study support the existence of students' overconfidence. In all the skills students score their ability higher than employers do with those differences being statistically significant in 21 out of 22 skills. Employers who are in closer contact with entry level accountants perceive even lower exhibited skills levels in graduates.Research limitations/implicationsOverconfident students would be less motivated to actively participate in activities designed to improve skills resulting in underachievement and in lower performance. This low performance in highly valued skills could potentially harm their employability.Originality/valueAlthough the literature focussing on non-technical skills in accounting is prolific there are few papers comparing the views of employers and students, and there are no previous studies focussing on overconfidence.

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Although research and pronouncements have identified the increased relevance of ‘soft’ skills for future professionals in accounting, graduates continue to exhibit deficiencies in those skills. Employers and practitioners emphasize that the dynamic business environment requires more than just technical knowledge; excellent teamwork, communication and analytical skills are also of paramount importance. Despite numerous attempts to improve teamwork skills there is evidence that the responses to the acknowledged deficiencies have not been successful and there is a lack of understanding about the constraints that could hinder the skills development. Some results point to anxiety towards communication as a reason for the unwillingness to interact in group situations and therefore as a constraint for skills development, although the connection between communication apprehension and development of teamwork skills has not been investigated. Therefore, the present study examines the relationships between communication apprehension and communication self-efficacy and teamwork skills self-efficacy, in order to understand to what extent communication apprehension influences self-efficacy beliefs and forms a potential barrier. Our results indicate a negative influence of communication apprehension on teamwork self-efficacy, both direct and mediated by communication self-efficacy; whereas there is a relevant positive association between self-efficacy beliefs. This pattern of relationships provides relevant insights about how the constraints could be alleviated, which that are discussed in the paper. Tanto los posicionamientos de instituciones contables relevantes como los resultados de la investigación coinciden en destacar la importancia creciente de las capacidades transversales (soft skills) para los futuros profesionales en contabilidad y finanzas. Empleadores y profesionales resaltan que para desenvolverse en el dinámico mundo empresarial se requiere de algo más que conocimientos técnicos; así, las capacidades analíticas, de comunicación y trabajo en grupo son de la máxima relevancia. Sin embargo, pese a los intentos para desarrollar estas capacidades en la formación superior, siguen existiendo evidencias de que esas intervenciones no tienen el éxito esperado y parece haber una falta de conocimiento sobre las limitaciones que pueden estar dificultando el desarrollo de las mismas. Este estudio se centra en las capacidades de trabajo en grupo. Algunos indicios apuntan a la aprensión comunicativa (AC) como una posible causa de falta de interacción grupal, y por tanto como una posible barrera, aunque esta conexión no ha sido estudiada. En esta línea, el objetivo de este trabajo es examinar la relación entre la AC autoeficacia comunicativa y de trabajo en grupo, comprobando hasta qué punto puede constituir una limitación al desarrollo de capacidades. Los resultados indican que la AC tiene una relación negativa con la autoeficacia de trabajo en grupo, tanto directa como mediada por la autoeficacia comunicativa, mientras que las percepciones de autoeficacia están positivamente relacionadas entre sí. Este patrón de relaciones proporciona pistas, que se discuten en el trabajo, sobre cómo sería posible aliviar esta barrera.