Informing teaching and learning practice : identifying educator capabilities for improving student performance in Accounting education

Abstract

The focus of this study is my lived experience as an accounting academic over the past twenty years in higher education in South Africa. As a lecturer, I am embedded in my teaching practice which allows me to be a reflective practitioner. In my reflective considerations, I began to identify educator capabilities for improving student performance in accounting education. Educator capabilities were identified by me as work experience, teaching experience, and the teaching qualification. A competent academic should possess work experience, teaching experience and a teaching qualification who will then display leadership traits and characteristics that are trusted and aligned with emotional intelligence. The extensive literature review on educator capabilities was used to support the findings of the individual interviews and focus group interviews to answer the research questions. The epistemologies and ontologies are underpinned on the premise of living theory and action research within a systems framework. The action research strategy was conducted in three phases. Firstly, the informal phase where a framework for the study was established. Thereafter, a formal phase for the research methodology to be conducted and finally, a phase for reflexivity. A Systems Thinking approach was adopted in the study using a combination of systems methodologies to facilitate the process of sense making. System Dynamics was used to design a stock-flow diagram to illustrate the relationship between educator capabilities and student performance. Soft Systems Methodology was used to depict a ‘rich picture’ of the scenario affecting student performance. The Viable System Model was used as the dominant system to inform educator capabilities in accounting education. This led to the establishment of pathways to Accounting Academia where varying routes to improving accounting academia competencies are explored. I have posited this emergent learning as informing of academic leadership in accounting education. This became a vital part of the knowledge creation in this thesis. As a part of the leadership role in accounting education, the way forward, for me, is to be an ambassador for promoting and encouraging other academics to inform their own professional development through research processes of their choosing.