John Joyce

Quality in higher education: from monitoring to management

Concepts of accountable management in the public sector have ensured that issues relating to performance measurement have been high on the agenda of higher education institutions. Several quality initiatives are happening at the same time as universities are faced with diminishing financial support from public sources of finance. It has been suggested that higher education should look to private sector models of performance measurement in order to address important quality issues. In taking such models, the paper argues the importance of recognising that key performance indicators on their own can be dysfunctional unless they are grounded within the culture of a strategy‐focussed organisation. The paper then proposes the use of a balanced scorecard approach in order to reinforce the importance of managing rather than just monitoring performance. A balanced scorecard for a faculty of business and management is developed in order to illustrate the points being made.

Priorities for the development of vocational skills in management accountants: A European perspective

Abstract In recent years there have been many calls for a re-orientation of accounting education in order to include the development of competencies such as communication, group working, and problem solving skills. However, concern has been expressed that the proposed changes are possibly biased towards the interests of public accounting employers. This paper presents and compares the opinions of the employers of management accountants in Spain and the UK, and then by using a weighted importance indicator determines vocational skills development priorities. The factors that the Spanish and UK employers identified as major constraints to the development of vocational skills are also compared.

Approaches to learning of management accounting students

Explores whether professional management accounting students adopt deep or surface Approaches to Learning. Using methodologies developed for research into higher education, suggests a model that focuses on students’ approaches to learning. It is important to stress that the concern of the model is with students’ perceptions, because it is these perceptions that will decide how the students approach their learning. The model is explored by using an Approaches to Studying Inventory questionnaire. Previous research in this area has largely been in the area of higher education. This empirical study is based on the students of a professional accounting body. The findings are presented in total and are then further analysed by gender, domicile and study method.

Communication apprehension in UK and Spanish business and accounting students

Distinguishes between communication apprehension (CA), the fear of actually communicating, and communication development, the ability to maintain and improve performance as a communicator. Indicates that CA needs to be addressed before progress can be made in developing the communication skills of graduates to which employers attach considerable importance. Reports the results of a study comparing levels of CA amongst business and accounting students in the UK and Spain, which confirm the high levels of CA found in North American students but also indicate differences which may be due to cultural and other factors. Considers implications of findings for curriculum design and staff development.

The vocational skills gap for management accountants: the stakeholders' perspectives

Previous research into the views of employers of accountants has identified the need to develop a broad range of wider vocational skills. This paper identifies the relative importance of a specified range of vocational skills needed for a chartered management accountant to discharge his/her duties. Views are sought from the employers of management accountants and from management accounting students who are currently in the process of qualifying. By analysing the relative importance of the skills and the level of skills actually exhibited, this study prioritizes areas for development and training. The findings of this study confirm that employers and students recognize that it is important for accountants to develop a range of vocational skills. There is broad agreement between the employers and the students on the areas to prioritize. However, there are differences in the specific priorities. The employers and students also agree that the development of vocational skills should be integrated into the accounting curriculum.

Accounting Students and Communication Apprehension: A Study of Spanish and UK Students

ABSTRACT Accounting is about measuring and communicating. Accounting bodies and employers have expressed opinions, which have been supported by research results, advocating that greater emphasis is placed on the development of communication skills throughout the education and training of accountants. Consequently, an increasing number of accounting programmes now include communication skills as educational objectives or learning outcomes, and have integrated activities into the curriculum specifically to develop these skills. It is important to recognise that certain factors can severely restrict the development of communication skills; a major factor is communication apprehension. Research suggests that the existence of high levels of communication apprehension will make efforts to improve communication skills ineffective. Previous research findings indicate that accounting students have high levels of communication apprehension. This paper compares and contrasts the levels and profiles of communication apprehension exhibited by accounting students at the (UK University) and those at the (ESP University). The levels of communication apprehension are also compared with those of students from other disciplines at the same institutions. The results confirm the high levels of communication apprehension in European accounting students. There are notable differences between the two countries however in certain underlying factors.

Motivations, expectations and preparedness for higher education: a study of accounting students in Ireland, the UK, Spain and Greece

Abstract This paper compares the motives, expectations and preparedness of a sample of students commencing the study of accounting in higher education in four European countries. The findings reveal that whilst all students are motivated to progress to higher education for career-oriented reasons and to seek intellectual growth, considerable variation is observed between the students in the four settings with regard to motives, confidence and perceptions of preparedness for higher education. The implications of these findings, both in the context of the alignment objectives of the Bologna process and the ongoing accounting education change debate, are considered.

Communication apprehension and maths anxiety as barriers to communication and numeracy skills development in accounting and business education

Purpose – To establish the existence of barriers to communication and numeracy skills development and to establish the levels of these exhibited by accounting and business students at the commencement of their courses in higher education.Design/methodology/approach – Uses questionnaires to establish the levels of communication apprehension (CA) and maths anxiety (MA) in students at the commencement of their accounting and business courses in higher education. Establishes the underlying factors that are influential in determining the levels of apprehension and anxiety in individual students. An analysis of the underlying demographic variables such as age, previous educational background, etc. is also undertaken.Findings – Identifies the existence of high levels of CA in accounting students and MA in business studies students at the beginning of their courses.Practical implications – Where high levels of CA in accounting students and MA in business studies students are shown to exist consideration must be g...

The approaches to learning of European accounting students

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to identify the impact of differing teaching contexts on the approaches to learning of accounting undergraduates in different European countries by the use of a study process questionnaire.Design/methodology/approach – The questionnaire used was Biggs’ R‐SPQ‐2F (Biggs et al.). This is a 20‐item questionnaire that identifies the learning styles of individual students in terms of deep and surface approaches.Findings – Significant differences were found in the approaches to learning of the students in the countries concerned. The differences were rooted in two subcomponents: motive and strategy. Gender differences were also identified.Originality/value – A major factor in the development process of future accountants is the education process that they undertake. This study identifies a methodology that is capable of comparing accounting students in different countries and potentially identifying the underlying reasons why the quality of the learning outcomes achieved ...

The Sound of Silence?: A Comparative Study of the Barriers to Communication Skills Development in Accounting and Engineering Students.

Employers often consider graduates to be unprepared for employment and lacking in vocational skills. A common demand from them is that the curriculum should include ‘communication skills’, as specific skills in their own right and also because of the central role that such skills can play in developing other desirable attributes. Current thinking in communication has indicated a split between communication apprehension and communication development. There are indications that techniques designed to develop communication skills will not resolve communication apprehension and that, if an individual has a high level of communication apprehension, these techniques will not result in improved communication performance. This paper compares and contrasts the levels and profiles of communication apprehension exhibited by accounting and engineering students. The implications of the findings are then discussed and the need for further research in the area of vocational choice is identified.