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The relationship between learning approaches and learning outcomes: a study of Irish accounting students

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  • Marann Byrne
  • Barbara Flood
  • Pauline Willis

Abstract

The higher education literature demonstrates that a student's approach to learning is a critical factor in determining the quality of the learning outcome. This is the first study undertaken in an Irish context which examines the relationship between accounting students' approaches to learning and their learning outcomes. The Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) is used to measure the approaches to learning adopted by first year students in their study of management accounting. Students' learning outcomes are represented by their performance in the various assessment components of that module. Gender differences are specifically considered in this study. The analysis reveals that for the full group the deep and strategic approaches are positively associated with high academic performance and the instrumental approach is associated with poor performance. This relationship exists for female students but, surprisingly, there is little evidence of a relationship between performance and learning approaches for male students. This may be explained by male students failing to effectively report their actual approach to learning.

Suggested Citation

  • Marann Byrne & Barbara Flood & Pauline Willis, 2002. "The relationship between learning approaches and learning outcomes: a study of Irish accounting students," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 27-42.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:accted:v:11:y:2002:i:1:p:27-42
    DOI: 10.1080/09639280210153254
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter Booth & Peter Luckett & Rosina Mladenovic, 1999. "The quality of learning in accounting education: the impact of approaches to learning on academic performance," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(4), pages 277-300.
    2. Moy Yin Koh & Hian Chye Koh, 1999. "The determinants of performance in an accountancy degree programme," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 13-29.
    3. Angus Duff, 2001. "Psychometric methods in accounting education: a review, some comments and implications for accounting education researchers," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 383-401.
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    Citations

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    1. Tehmina Khan & Michael Kend & Susan Robertson, 2016. "Use of social media by university accounting students and its impact on learning outcomes," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(6), pages 534-567, November.
    2. Lucas, Ursula & Meyer, Jan H.F., 2005. "‘Towards a mapping of the student world’: the identification of variation in students' conceptions of, and motivations to learn, introductory accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 177-204.
    3. Flood, Barbara & Wilson, Richard M.S., 2008. "An exploration of the learning approaches of prospective professional accountants in Ireland," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 225-239.
    4. Ballantine, Joan A. & Duff, Angus & McCourt Larres, Patricia, 2008. "Accounting and business students’ approaches to learning: A longitudinal study," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 188-201.
    5. Duff, Angus & Mladenovic, Rosina, 2015. "Antecedents and consequences of accounting students' approaches to learning: A cluster analytic approach," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 321-338.
    6. Marann Byrne & Barbara Flood & Pauline Willis, 2004. "Validation of the approaches and study skills inventory for students (assist) using accounting students in the USA and Ireland: a research note," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 449-459.
    7. Richard B. Dull & Lydia L. F. Schleifer & Jeffrey J. McMillan, 2015. "Achievement Goal Theory: The Relationship of Accounting Students' Goal Orientations with Self-efficacy, Anxiety, and Achievement," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 152-174, April.
    8. Dong, Nanyan & Bai, Meng & Zhang, He & Zhang, Junrui, 2019. "Approaches to learning IFRS by Chinese accounting students," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-11.
    9. Yilmaz Guney, 2009. "Exogenous and Endogenous Factors Influencing Students' Performance in Undergraduate Accounting Modules," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 51-73.
    10. Gross, Andrew & Hoelscher, Jamie & Reed, Brad J. & Sierra, Gregory E., 2020. "The new nuts and bolts of auditing: Technological innovation in inventorying inventory," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    11. Belete J. Bobe & Barry J. Cooper, 2020. "Accounting students’ perceptions of effective teaching and approaches to learning: impact on overall student satisfaction," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(3), pages 2099-2143, September.
    12. Parunchana Pacharn & Darlene Bay & Sandra Felton, 2012. "Impact of a Flexible Evaluation System on Effort and Timing of Study," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(5), pages 451-470, October.
    13. Opdecam, Evelien & Everaert, Patricia, 2022. "Effect of a summer school on formative and summative assessment in accounting education," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).

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