Reflexive praxis and systemic factors influencing teaching and learning in the accounting discipline in South Africa

Abstract

This study reports on a small-scale, qualitative evaluation of learning through teaching in two undergraduate modules in accounting at the Mangosuthu University of Technology, together with analysing systemic factors influencing the teaching and learning of financial accounting within South Africa. This study outlines my narrative self-study stance in the form of reflexive praxis toward research and pedagogy to explore my personal lived experience as a novice higher education financial accounting teacher. I illustrated my research journey by tracing the development of key research questions and re-examining the research and subject matter curriculum design processes. I used the medium of a ‘narrative reflexive-praxis research’ to represent and engage with a range of data derived from my experience teaching in the two modules. Financial accounting higher education in the country will benefit from the study’s unique contributions. The methodological contribution is the use of a textual collage, which draws on visual and accounting language-based approaches to educational research as a medium for data representation. The creation of the collage and its presentation in this dissertation contribute to the ongoing development and exploration of alternative forms of data representation in higher education accounting research. The conceptual contribution of the dissertation is the conceptualisation of my teaching-learning-researching experience as an accounting engagement. This conception of accounting engagement offers a new way of looking at financial accounting pedagogy and research in an academic teaching environment. In addition to these two unique contributions to the field of accountancy, the dissertation adds further understanding and impetus to the growing body of work that seeks to explore and value the teacher self and teacher reflective study in the context of lived, relational accounting discipline experience. The research highlighted the complex nature and realities of the continuous changing nature of university leadership and strategies leading to the perpetually changing trials of lecturers’ pedagogical choice-crafting and deed because of that complexity. It also pinpointed the realities of practice, people collaboration, engagement and wider societal settings as well as shapes influencing higher education accounting teachers' individual, day-to-day action. It demonstrated the crucial, artistic and continued investigation in which the lecturer’s reflection could improve pedagogical action as well, as a result, making the qualitative variation towards individual practice within academic situations, ultimately improving his practice or action. Furthermore, the dissertation demonstrates the ways a reflective exercise is conducted by a teacher at an institution of higher learning. The findings can illustrate important academical ideas which have reflection outside the self as well as can theme towards paths of study and growing in the larger academic field within a department of higher education and training.