Difficulties of Academic Achievement in Principles of Accounting Courses from the Student Perspective: Evidence from Libya

Abstract

Many studies by researchers and accounting educators explore various factors associated with the success or failure of accounting majors in college level accounting courses. This paper identifies and summarizes the main obstacles associated with low student academic achievement in introductory courses in the College of Accounting at Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi University, Libya. The research empirically investigates student perceptions of the difficulties of academic achievement in principles of accounting courses. The research method was a survey that involved classifying students as either accounting majors or non-accounting majors. Data was collected through a questionnaire with 28 items related to five primary groups: an instructor's teaching style, exams and quizzes, students, accounting textbooks, and general groups plus one open-ended question. Findings show that the major obstacles of learning and source of negative perceptions students have toward accounting courses are: lack of teaching assistants, lack of computer laboratories and computer applications, crowded dormitories, lack of interaction between students and faculty, a gap between what is taught and practical applications, irrelevant textbooks and exams, and lack of proficiency in English. Solutions offered include: greater emphasis on teaching computer accounting technology, improving effectiveness of accounting instructors and textbooks, and offering pre-college accounting courses. This study focuses on one public university, which limits its generalisability. For future research, the author suggests interviews with students upon collecting their questionnaires to elicit more complete responses, and greater attention to perspectives based on gender in order to discover and understand any differences among male and female attitudes toward accounting courses.

Accounting students’ profile versus academic performance: A five-year analysis

“…Moreover, the results of the study by Addow et al (2013) confirm that English language proficiency correlates positively with academic success. Tailab (2013) confirmed that one of the major obstacles identified was students' lack of English language proficiency. Further, Aidoo-Buameh and Ayagre (2013) concluded a relationship was found between Mathematics at pre-university level and academic performance but found no correlation between pre-university English and academic performance.…”

“…The results showed that 'English language proficiency correlates positively with academic success' (Addow et al 2013, 64). Tailab (2013) explored obstacles associated with low student academic achievement in introductory courses in the College of Accounting at a university in Libya. The results indicated that one of the major obstacles was students' lack of English language proficiency.…”

Factors Associated with Failure in Accounting: A Case Study of the Omani Students Rodrigo M. Velasco1

“…Challenges that relate to the teacher-factors are perceived by less number of students. Meanwhile, only a few identified a challenge with their classmates as well as the class timing.The challenges faced by the students are similar to the factors identified by the previous studies including irrelevant exams (Tailab, 2013) and large class sizes (Araujo, Lima, Oliveira & Miranda, 2015). The personal struggles of the students in the study of accounting were not related to any cited studies herein.…”

“…The majority of the students admitted the weakness of understanding the basic terminologies in accounting. This also highlighted two noted factors of failure which are English comprehension (Rivero-Menendeza, Urquia-Grandeb, Lopez-Sanchez & Camacho-Minanoa, 2018;Tailab, 2013;Joyce, Hassall, Arquero-Montano & Donosoanes, 2006) and mathematical aptitude (Garkaz, Banimah & Esmaeili, 2011;Shaban, 2015). Read and study the next lessons before coming to class 21.67 18…”

“…There are other factors worth considering. In Libya, the main obstacles in the study of college accounting include lack of teaching assistants, lack of interaction between students and teachers, the gap between theory and applications and irrelevant exams and books (Tailab, 2013). In South Africa, teachers' qualifications and books are the primary issues (Modise, 2016).…”