While literature points to significant benefits from using case-based teaching in accounting education, the extent to which these benefits can be obtained with large undergraduate classes is not evident. Using an action research approach, strategies for the use of case-based teaching in large classes at an Irish university were developed and evaluated. Insights into the nature of the challenges facing lecturers and students in the large class setting were obtained. The researchers found that, by using appropriate strategies, case studies can be successfully delivered in large class settings, as measured against criteria derived from the literature. The action research method proved effective in the reflection on and development of these strategies. However, despite the success of the strategies that were developed, there were important aspects of the students' and lecturers' responses in this setting that had an impact on the benefits realized.Case-based teaching, large class settings, action research,
The case study method has come under increasing attention in recent decades with some writers extolling its potential to promote deeper learning. However, in the area of accounting education, ongoing calls for its use are not matched with similar accounts of successful use. Using a phenomenological approach, this study explores how accounting lecturers at an Irish university experience teaching with case studies. Three categories of description emerge: controller, facilitator, and partner. Of these, only the partners apply the case method with the explicit intention of fostering deeper learning and personal development. This suggests that, to inform the debate on its potential benefits, more extensive consideration needs to be paid to the manner in which accounting educators actually engage with the case method. Research in accounting education should move beyond consideration of teaching method to focus on the underlying affective and institutional factors which colour interpretation of the teaching context.Case-based teaching, lecturer experience, teaching approach,
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