Ursula Lucas

What is the ‘World’ of Phenomenography?

Abstract Phenomenographic research (especially that which aims to uncover student conceptions of key disciplinary concepts) is subjected to critical review on two main fronts. (1) We consider the adequacy with which research procedures for revealing student conceptions are stipulated. There are clear methodological requirements for the study of life worlds, not all of which phenomenography consistently meets. (2) The product of phenomenographic research is to arrive at a structure of categories of description. This aim threatens to subvert entry into the actual student life world, which may well have less coherence than phenomenography requires. Additionally, phenomenography can show over‐concern with ‘authorized conceptions’: student perceptions of the world are implicitly seen as deficient versions of the official views. The article advocate that phenomenographic research should give more active consideration to the process of research in revealing the actual lived worlds of students.

The Potential of Threshold Concepts: An Emerging Framework for Educational Research and Practice.

This paper explores the notion of a “threshold concept” and discusses its possible implications for higher education research and practice. Using the case of introductory accounting as an illustration, it is argued that the idea of a threshold concept provides an emerging theoretical framework for a ‘re-view’ of educational research and practice. It is argued that this ‘re-view’ both demands and supports several forms of dialogue about educational research and practice: within the disciplines (between lecturers and between lecturers and students) and between lecturers and educational developers. Finally, it is suggested that, rather than representing a research field in its own right, the threshold concepts framework may act as a catalyst, drawing together a variety of fields of research in a productive educative framework.

Approaches to learning in accounting education

The impact of an area of educational research may be judged by the extent to which its terminology comes into common usage within the teaching community. By this measure the approaches to learning research would appear to have ‘come of age’. The terms ‘surface’ and ‘deep’ approach to learning are now commonly used and the approaches to learning framework forms the basis of several key texts that seek to support the development of teaching within the higher education community (Biggs, 2003; Prosser and Trigwell, 1999; Ramsden, 2003). Research within this framework has added to theory, developed research tools and provided empirical evidence to support changes in teaching. However, there still remain many unresolved issues and there exist tantalising indications that there may be numerous productive lines of research yet to be developed (Gibbs, 2003; Richardson, 2000). In particular, a review of the literature indicates that there is a clear need for further research to be conducted within specific disciplinary settings. There has been speculation amongst researchers that the view of learning outcome and approach to learning may differ between disciplines (Birkett and Mladenovic, 2002; Eley, 1992; Meyer et al., 1990; Meyer and Watson, 1991; Ramsden, 1984). In particular, Meyer and Eley (1999, p.198) argue that:

Developing a capacity to engage in critical reflection: students' ‘ways of knowing’ within an undergraduate business and accounting programme

The development of a capacity to engage in critical reflection is central to higher education. However, students vary in this capacity and its development requires students to move from an absolute towards a contextual way of knowing. Using 32 semi-structured interviews, this study identifies the ways of knowing of 17 business and accounting students at a large new United Kingdom (UK) university. In this study, absolute and transitional ways of knowing were found to be predominant. This appears to be significantly related to: (1) an extrinsic motivation for studying for a UK business or accounting degree and the desire to obtain a ‘good degree’; (2) a strong focus on the organisation of learning, rather than on what is learnt; and (3) a strong focus on, and an unquestioning attitude to, assessment. The implications of these findings for further research and pedagogy within higher education are discussed.

Supporting student awareness: understanding student preconceptions of their subject matter within introductory courses

The present study is concerned with how educators might support students in developing a better awareness and understanding of themselves as learners. The context for the paper is widening participation within higher education and the growth of first‐year ‘introductory’ modules, which are taught to large numbers of students, including both specialists and non‐specialists. Such large, heterogeneous student cohorts present particular challenges to educators. The paper describes how the Reflections on Learning Inventory (RoLI) may be used, in conjunction with a subject‐specific inventory, to identify the ways in which variations in student preconceptions about the subject are related to different types of learning processes. The paper then discusses the implications of the findings for pedagogic development. In particular, it proposes that course design should involve the development of student awareness and understanding about motivations and beliefs about the subject.

Towards A 'Scholarship of Teaching and Learning': The Individual and the Communal Journey

This paper is a summary of a presentation made at the 2010 Annual Conference of the British Accounting Associations Special Interest Group on Accounting Education, held at Dublin City University. This presentation set out a case for a communal scholarship of teaching and learning within accounting and emphasised the role of autoethnographies within this process.

The use of objective testing in first-year undergraduate accounting courses

The paper describes the findings of a survey on the use of objective testing (OT) within first-year undergraduate accounting courses within the United Kingdom. A key finding was that, although there is widespread use of OT, it is carried out in contexts which are unable to ensure quality. This paper highlights issues of quality in the provision of OT and provides a case study of how OT can be used effectively, both educationally and managerially. The paper also identifies areas for further research and, importantly, areas where institutions may benefit from collaboration in the use of OT.