Nicola J. Beatson, Seedwell T.M. Sithole, Paul de Lange, Brendan O’Connell and Jeffrey K. Smith
This paper aims to examine the self-efficacy beliefs of first-year accounting students and investigate the sources of self-efficacy beliefs for both female and male students. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the self-efficacy beliefs of first-year accounting students and investigate the sources of self-efficacy beliefs for both female and male students. The goal is to provide insights to help lecturers support the academic success of accounting students.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involves analysing data from 184 accounting students who reported on four sources of self-efficacy beliefs: enactive mastery experience, verbal persuasion, vicarious experience and physiological and affective states.
Findings
The study reveals that male students are primarily influenced by prior experience and physiological and affective states, while female students are mostly influenced by prior experience and verbal persuasion.
Practical implications
Educators can use these findings to design more effective interventions and support systems that enhance students’ self-efficacy and, consequently, their academic performance and overall learning outcomes.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the development of theory in the underexplored area of self-efficacy beliefs among accounting students. It provides insights on the differences in sources of self-efficacy beliefs between genders and provides valuable evidence for educators to support student success in learning accounting.
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Nicola J. Beatson, David A.G. Berg, Jeffrey K. Smith and Christine Smith-Han
The purpose of this paper is to test the impact of a rule that affects tertiary students progressing from an introductory level finance course to intermediate level. The rule…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the impact of a rule that affects tertiary students progressing from an introductory level finance course to intermediate level. The rule restricted students from progressing until they achieved a higher grade than just a “pass” mark.
Design/methodology/approach
Archival data were gathered from 11 semesters regarding student performance pre and post the rule being introduced.
Findings
Results show that the rule was associated with an increase in the chances of success at intermediate level for those students enrolled after the rule was introduced.
Practical implications
This paper’s main contribution regards the evidence that increasing prior learning at an introductory level has a positive follow-on effect for students learning at intermediate level. This has a practical implication for educators, as the rule has shown to increase the chance of success for knowledge development in the first year of studies.
Originality/value
The setting for this paper is unique and could potentially be replicated elsewhere. In 1980, Schaffer and Calkins called for an evaluation of the pre-requisites necessary for finance education at the tertiary level, and this paper answer this call stating that pre-requisites can contribute to the academic success of finance students.
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Nicola Beatson, David Berg and Jeffrey K. Smith
The purpose of this study is to investigate failure in an introductory accounting course. Failure rates are often hard to explain and have a cost to both the individual and to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate failure in an introductory accounting course. Failure rates are often hard to explain and have a cost to both the individual and to the university. This paper offers insight into this complex matter.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses data gathered from a survey instrument on self-efficacy beliefs and personal written reflections from students who had previously failed the introductory accounting course to diagnose why students may have failed.
Findings
The key finding in this paper is that students are individuals and there can be multiple reasons for failure.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation in this paper is the sample size of six-student reflections. This in itself speaks to the difficultly in researching this area, as students are often not willing to face failure and discuss it.
Practical implications
The main contribution from this paper is an awareness for educators, as failure can occur for multiple reasons. This paper both adds to the literature on failure in accounting courses and helps inform educators of why their students may fail.
Originality/value
It is very challenging to research failure and therefore there is very little work on this area. At this time, the authors have no knowledge of any papers, which address the failure rates in introductory accounting courses from the individual perspective. Therefore, this paper has a unique contribution to the field of accounting education.
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Nicola Beatson, Paul de Lange, Brendan O'Connell, Meredith Tharapos and Jeffrey K. Smith
The purpose of this paper is to consider what factors influence the ability of academic staff to remain motivated and to persist in their work environment during the COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider what factors influence the ability of academic staff to remain motivated and to persist in their work environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tinto’s (2017) model of student motivation and persistence is reconceptualised to apply to the academic staff by considering their self-efficacy beliefs, sense of belonging and perceptions of career relevance on their motivation levels and adaption to a new environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilising Tinto’s (2017) reconceptualised model for academics, this study provides insights into motivation and capacity to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents observations and reflections from five academics from three universities across two countries in relation to self-efficacy, sense of belonging and perception of career relevance.
Findings
The findings of this study state that self-efficacy beliefs, a sense of belonging and perceptions of career relevance combine to drive both academics’ motivation levels and their ability to adapt to the changing landscape. Self-efficacy was influenced by factors such as struggles with adaptation to new online technologies and researching and teaching in a virtual environment. Academics’ sense of belonging was found to be challenged in unprecedented ways because of physical isolation and sometimes unfavourable home working environments. Perceptions of career relevance were found to be challenged by adverse developments such as reduced promotional opportunities, cuts in resourcing and job insecurity.
Originality/value
This paper makes three important contributions. First, Tinto’s (2017) model of student motivation and persistence is extended to examine academic motivation, adaption and persistence. Second, the model is applied to a crisis where staff face greater strain in maintaining connection to their colleagues and their university. Third, the influence of the COVID-19 crisis is examined by using the reconceptualised Tinto (2017) model in the context of accounting, as accounting international student enrolments and associated revenue streams have been impacted significantly more than those of many other disciplines.
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In the Theory of Modern Sentiments Smith distinguishes between theactual impartial spectator and the ideal; the man within the breast– a mechanism that allows Smith to extend the…
Abstract
In the Theory of Modern Sentiments Smith distinguishes between the actual impartial spectator and the ideal; the man within the breast – a mechanism that allows Smith to extend the theory of moral approbation to judge the actions and motives of the agent himself. Argues that the significance of this is that Smith is then able to postulate standards of morality which are in some sense absolute, valid for all times and places. Shows that Smith deploys these absolute standards in evaluating how custom and tradition pervert the moral sentiments in some instances. This in turn allows him to legitimately speak of progress in human societies. Smith′s bias in favour of commercial society over the early and rude state is, therefore, rooted in his moral philosophy.
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This volume, sponsored by the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, was shaped at the University of Bologna where earlier drafts of the 16 essays it contains were…
Abstract
This volume, sponsored by the European Society for the History of Economic Thought, was shaped at the University of Bologna where earlier drafts of the 16 essays it contains were presented at a Conference on institutions, markets and the division of labor. Like any collection of essays, especially if they come after a conference, the quality of the contributions varies, but it must be said that the average exceeds the usual standard. Moreover, although the title “Knowledge, Social Institutions and the Division of Labour” is broad enough to accommodate a diversity of subjects, there is a degree of congruity among the different contributions. The book is divided in three parts, “Rationality, Communication and Connecting Principles” (comprising four essays), “Social Interaction and Moral Sentiments” (comprising five essays) and “Division of Labour, Patterns of Interdependence and Social Institutions” (comprising seven essays).
Approaches to the sociology of culture have largely been constituted around the long tradition of functionalism in sociology. This has hampered the field greatly. Among other…
Abstract
Approaches to the sociology of culture have largely been constituted around the long tradition of functionalism in sociology. This has hampered the field greatly. Among other shortcomings, this intellectual foundation has led to a limited understanding of ideology and civil society, a conservative political orientation and an overdeterministic view of social action and the actor. In this paper, I explore and then apply a new approach to the sociology of culture, one that attempts to conceptualize more robustly the dynamics of ideology, ideological conflict and civil society. As part of this project, I endeavor to map out a critical cultural perspective that establishes a multidimensional understanding of the contingency of social action.
Clive Bingley, Allan Bunch and Edwin Fleming
TOP TITLES, measured by the number of loans from Dumbarton District Libraries last year, were newish books by the following ten authors: Wilbur Smith, Jeffrey Archer, Catherine…
Abstract
TOP TITLES, measured by the number of loans from Dumbarton District Libraries last year, were newish books by the following ten authors: Wilbur Smith, Jeffrey Archer, Catherine Cookson, Virginia Andrews, Danielle Steel, C McCullough, Susan Howatch, Desmond Bagley, Belva Plain, Douglas Reeman. (How can anyone be willing to go through life called ‘Belva Plain’?) The most popular non‐fiction writer was James Herriot, and for children (can you guess?), Enid Blyton.
I propose a general framework for instrumental variables estimation of the average treatment effect in the correlated random coefficient model, focusing on the case where the…
Abstract
I propose a general framework for instrumental variables estimation of the average treatment effect in the correlated random coefficient model, focusing on the case where the treatment variable has some discreteness. The approach involves adding a particular function of the exogenous variables to a linear model containing interactions in observables, and then using instrumental variables for the endogenous explanatory variable. I show how the general approach applies to binary and Tobit treatment variables, including the case of multiple treatments.