Inclusive accountancy programmes in South African higher education: a revised teaching approach

Teachers’ experiences of teaching Accounting in the context of curriculum changes in South Africa

“…Research in Accounting Education 3,4,5,18 highlights that changes in the Accounting curriculum required teachers to modify their teaching and assessment methods to align them with the demands of the new curriculum. The assumption was that the adoption of diverse teaching approaches could lead to advancement of accounting proficiencies that are required in order to succeed in the profession.…”

“…Accounting is a discipline that requires more practice than most others because of its practical nature. 3,5,16,18 Erasmus and Fourie 18 advise that a range of assessment tasks should be given to learners to involve them in discussion whilst encouraging them to think creatively. This means that in Accounting, assessment activities must cover the entire content of the subject as well as the variety of skills that cover a range of cognitive levels to cater to different learner abilities.…”

“…However, research has revealed that formative assessment is not understood by teachers because of a lack of conceptual understanding of Accounting. 5,18,27 This has an impact on effectively teaching it. The situation is worse in rural schools where teachers are faced with the challenges of large classes and a shortage of resources, especially textbooks.…”

Accounting education in Africa

“…Based on the statistical significance of the findings in favour of the experimental group, this study recommends that integrated assessments, based on real work problems, should be conducted in first year studies as well as in subsequent years, as such assessments are useful to link theory and practice. Considering whether the academic success of underprepared students can be improved by changing student behaviour through revised classroom management practices, Fourie and Erasmus (2018) developed a teaching approach that focusses on classroom management practices. In line with their finding that teaching is the most prominent factor for student success, their revised teaching approach includes limited formal lectures and extended tutoring sessions, and activities such as small tutorial groups with dedicated tutors, regular meetings between tutors and lecturers, tutors focussing on professional relationship with students and timely identification of at-risk students.…”

Exploring Accounting Teachers’ Views on the Quality of Accounting Prescribed Textbooks in South Africa

“…The prominence of textbooks is also apparent in Accounting. Accounting is a discipline that requires consistent practice due to its practical nature (Barac & du Plessis, 2014;Erasmus & Fourie, 2018;Myers, 2016). As the subject requires frequent application exercises, textbooks are expected to support teachers and students in the learning process with suitable activities and a wide range of examples that support students' reflection (Adeoye & Olabiyi, 2011).…”