The effectiveness of the project-based learning (PrjBL) approach in undergraduate accounting education

educade Revista de Educación en Contabilidad, Finanzas y Administración de Empresas The Spanish Journal of Accounting, Finance and Management Education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 65 Nº 9· 2018· ISSN 2173-478X pp. 65-83 The effectiveness of the project-based learning (PrjBL) approach in undergraduate accounting education Amalia Carrasco Gallego ([email protected]) José Antonio Donoso Anes ([email protected]s) Teresa Duarte Atoche (tduart[email protected]) Julián Hernández Borreguero ([email protected]) Rosario López Gavira ([email protected]) Universidad de Sevilla (España) http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/EDUCADE.2018.i09.05 RESUMEN: Desde la década de los 90 organismos profesionales de contabilidad como la American Accounting Association (AAA) o la International Financial Accounting Committe (IFAC) vienen demandando la necesidad de usar metodologías de participación activa en la formación universitaria de la contabilidad que faciliten el desarrollo de competencias y habilidades profesionales. El objetivo del trabajo es analizar la eficacia de ABPrj en la formación universitaria en asignaturas de Contabilidad Superior. El constructo de eficacia se ha formado por la utilidad para el aprendizaje de la materia y el desarrollo de competencias demandadas por la profesión y la mejora del rendimiento. El instrumento de medida es el cuestionario CEMPA (Cuestionario de efectividad del uso de metodologías de participación activa), que mide la percepción de eficacia de las metodologías de participación activa en el desarrollo de competencias técnicas y no técnicas (competencias) y análisis de rendimientos. Los resultados obtenidos confirman que los alumnos implicados en ABPrj perciben su utilidad para el aprendizaje y para el desarrollo de competencias demandadas para la profesión contable. Obtienen mejores rendimientos. Adicionalmente, se observa que la eficacia del ABPrj está relacionada con el tipo de materia; es más eficaz en asignaturas con un perfil creativo y abierto en su interpretación que aquellas más normativas. El estudio presenta limitaciones de carácter interno como externo, basadas en poco reconocimiento del tiempo invertido y la exigencia de prueba final igual para todos los alumnos. PALABRAS CLAVE: Aprendizaje basado en proyectos, método de aprendizaje, método activo, aprendizaje activo. ABSTRACT: Since the 1990s, professional accounting bodies such as the American Accounting Association (AAA) and the International Financial Accounting Committee (IFAC) have insisted on the necessary use of active participation techniques in undergraduate accounting education to facilitate the development of professional skills and abilities. Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 66 The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effectiveness of project-based learning (PrjBL) in university education in Advanced Accounting courses. The construct of effectiveness was created for its usefulness to learn the subject, develop skills desired in the profession, and improve achievement. The CEMPA questionnaire (Questionnaire Measuring the Effectiveness of Active Participation Techniques, Cuestionario de efectividad del uso de metodologías de Participación Activa) is a tool measuring the perceived effectiveness of active participation techniques in the development of technical and non-technical skills and analysing achievement. The results confirm that students involved in PrjBL perceive it as useful for learning and developing skills desired in the accounting profession. Students perform better. Additionally, it appears that PrjBL effectiveness is related to the type of subject; it is more effective in courses with a creative profile open to interpretation than it is in more prescriptive courses. This study has internal and external limitations based on the limited recognition of the time spent and the requirement of a final test identical for all students. KEYWORDS: Project-based learning, learning method, active method, active learning. Artículo. Recibido: 20-04-18 – Versión revisada: 12-09-18; 16-11-18, Aceptado: 28-11-18 Licencia Creative Commons BY NC ND · 2018 · Asociación Española de Contabilidad y Administración de Empresas - AECA 1. INTRODUCTION In recent years, changes have been encouraged in the methodological paradigm of higher education in the educational and professional fields (De Miguel Diaz, 2005). Education has changed from a method centred on the teacher's task to a learnercentred method based on participatory learning in which students assume responsibility for their academic training. Organizations such as the American Accounting Association (AAA) and the International Financial Accounting Committee (IFAC) have shown that there was a lack of development of certain skills and abilities required for problem solving, critical thinking, and communication in accounting education (Springer & Borthick, 2004). To remedy this deficit, they offer the use of methods that actively involve students in the learning process. The introduction of participatory methodologies in accounting education has had mixed results, and they have not been proven effective. According to Hwang, Lui, and Tong (2005), the use of these methodologies improves students' abilities to apply the knowledge learnt in the classroom, and this improvement is particularly significant when students face more complex accounting problems. Project-based learning (PrjBL) emerged in the 1990s in the experimental workshops of the Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (Rugen & Hart, 1994) and in various academic circles related to pedagogy (Blumenfeld et al., 1991). It is defined as a set of complex tasks involving students in designing, problem solving, decision making, and research activity, giving them the opportunity to learn independently for extended periods of time, and resulting in final presentations (Jones, Rasmussen, & Moffitt, 1997; Thomas, Mergendoller, & Michaelson, 1999). No work verifying the implementation of PrjBL has been found in the literature review on accounting teaching (Apostolou, Dorminey, Hassell, & Watson, 2013; Apostolou, Hassell, Rebele, & Watson, 2010; Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 67 Apostolou, Watson, Hassell, & Webber, 2001; Elam, 1996; Rebele et al., 1988a, 1988b; Rebele, Stout, & Hassell, 1991; Watson, Apostolou, Hassell, & Webber, 2003, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effectiveness of PrjBL in university education in Advanced Financial Accounting (AFC), and Financial Accounting Analysis (AA) courses. The construct of effectiveness was formed for its usefulness for learning the subject and developing skills desired in the profession, measured by students' perception through the Questionnaire Measuring the Effectiveness of Active Participation Techniques (Cuestionario de efectividad del uso de metodologías de Participación Activa (CEMPA)) and improved performance. The results confirm that students involved in PrjBL perceive its usefulness for learning and developing the skills desired in the accounting profession. This paper is divided into a review of the main contributions in the use of active participation methodologies, hypotheses, a presentation of the PrjBL approach, sample, measurement, and variables; it concludes with research results, discussion, conclusions, and limitations. 2. ACTIVE PARTICIPATION TECHNIQUES AND ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Methodologies of active or participatory teaching originate from Piaget (1970) and Vygotsky's (1978) constructivism theory. They rely on an understanding of how the human brain works, how it stores and retrieves information, how it learns, and how learning increases and extends prior learning (Galeana de la O, 2006). Constructivism focuses on learning as the result of mental constructs that are learnt by building new ideas or concepts based on current and previous knowledge (Karlin & Viani, 2001). According to this theory, the key component of a project must include a way for students to transform and build knowledge (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1999). In the 1990s, the American Accounting Association (AAA) and the International Financial Accounting Committee (IFAC) showed that there was a lack in developing non-technical skills and abilities (problem solving, critical thinking, and communication and interpersonal skills, (Springer & Borthick, 2004) in accounting education. In response to this deficit, they encouraged the use of methods actively involving students in the learning process to achieve more flexible, lasting, and easily applicable knowledge (Boaler, 1998). In this spirit, Knechel (1992), Bonner (1999), and Hwang et al. (2005) suggested that the use of these methodologies improves students' skills to apply the knowledge they have learnt in the classroom, and this improvement is particularly significant when students face more complex accounting problems. Empirical studies on the effectiveness of using active methodologies in accounting appear to have mixed results. Most studies highlight the positive effects of their use, such as Deci and Ryan (1985), who defend the usefulness of these methodologies based on motivational aspects, showing that, in terms of what are known as intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, students often find teamwork more interesting than lectures or textbook reading. Benware and Deci (1984) show that students who attain this intrinsic (also called active) stimulation achieve a greater level of motivation than those who only resort to extrinsic stimulation. Other studies recommend improving aspects that optimize the use of these methodologies. Thus, May, Windal, and Sylvestre (1995) acknowledge that, although it Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 68 is necessary to put more emphasis on skills such as oral and written communication, intellectual, or problem-solving skills, most respondents are not in favour of group learning or the use of case studies. They also observe that there are several shortcomings that need to be improved for the success of these active methodologies, such as the lack of suitable materials, classroom design, students' resistance to bearing more responsibility for their own learning, and teacher training. Indeed, the successful implementation of these active methodologies implies taking the key role of teachers fully into account; they must be aware that they cease to play the exclusive role of transmitting knowledge and instead become a coach or coordinator of the student learning (Springer & Borthick, 2004 ), which is why training them on this changing role is fundamentally important. Moreover, their work implies the need for planning, monitoring activities, mastering group dynamics technique, and having a sense of equity in assessment among teams. In accounting teaching, different types of active methodologies are used, such as the case study method, which is a problem-based, activity-based, and simulation-based approach to learning. From a theoretical framework, project-based learning (PrjBL) has elements in common with case study, activity-based learning, and problem-based learning (Cullen, Richardson, & O'Brien, 2004; Goodfrey, 1995; Hand, 2004a, 2004b); they are linked (Penzo, 2009) in that they use previous information content, carry out actions connected to the real world and provide teachers with feedback on the effectiveness of their implementation, with students being responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating projects (Blank, 1997; Dickinson et al., 1998; Galeana de la O, 2006; Harwell, 1997). The differences lay in the time frame of their implementation and in their emphasis. PrjBL takes a long period of time (from one quarter to a full course) and emphasizes the design and development of a plan for teamwork. PrjBL implies studying the subject using a company's actual information. To achieve pedagogical usefulness, (Durtschi, 2003; Wassermann, 1999), it must include a concrete situation taken from reality (i.e., not simulated), be a problematic or complex situation that leads to a diagnosis or a decision, and be a situation that can provide information and training on a particular knowledge area. The work sequence must be well defined and fall within an appropriate context. The necessary information must be identified by the student to solve the case; therefore, all the information must not be provided at the beginning of the activity (Durtschi, 2003; Norman & Schmidt, 1992). The view expressed by various authors is that this methodology develops the ability to search for and implement information, solve problems, and work in a team (Candy, Crebert, & O'Leary, 1994); it facilitates and accelerates the learning of new concepts and the application of those already established (Greenstein & Hall, 1996). It helps students better understand ideas and concepts that were used during the course of the experience (Cullen et al., 2004; Reynolds, 1990); it develops transferable skills, such as teamwork, project planning, drafting technical reports, making presentations, and searching for documents (Martinez, Ruiz, Perez, & Gonzalez, 2007), as well as independence and responsibility when facing an actual complex situation (Godejord, 2007), in addition to other skills, such as communication, decision making, and the ability to relate theory to practice. It allows for comparing knowledge learnt in the Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 69 classroom with its application to real situations and developing the skills required for professional development (Barron et al., 1998). In our case, PrjBL was used to learn Advanced Financial Accounting (AFA) and Accounting Analysis (AA). Starting from the actual information generated by companies (financial statements), the purpose was for students to learn their financial statements' design and content in accordance with the Spanish Chart of Accounts forms, recording and evaluating the rules. With these data and other complementary information, students were to assess and analyse the company's economic and financial situation over a period of time. AFA and AA are two disciplines with very different objectives and contents that entail the development of distinct technical and non-technical skills: AFA is very prescriptive, aligned, structured, and organized, whereas AA is open, interpretative, and creative despite its structured method. 3. HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT AND METHODOLOGY The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effectiveness of the PrjBL approach in Advanced Accounting (AFA and AA) courses. The construct of effectiveness was created for its usefulness for learning and developing skills desired in the profession. Usefulness is measured through students' perception of it and the performance variable obtained by each student. The development of skills desired in the profession is assessed through the perception that students have of them. As noted, students involved in the PrjBL approach face a scenario emerging from the actual context: they use different sources of available information, obtain real information, verify the reliability of the data, apply the current regulations, and have limited time available for carrying out activities. With this process, students acquire the knowledge to study financial statements, direct analysis in different environments, and develop tasks to be performed in any process of rigorous financial analysis. The Bedford Report (AAA, 1986) notes that the training of future professionals in accounting must fully account for actual situations and continuous changes in society and the environment, as well as the ability to adapt to them. As indicated by Hwang et al. (2005), using active participation methodologies may improve students' abilities to apply the knowledge they have learnt in the classroom or, as Marriot and Marriot (2003) note, allow students to better understand the accounting profession. Thus, the first hypothesis proposed is the following: H1: Students involved in PrjBL see its usefulness for learning Considering what Reyes (2005) and Hwang et al. (2005) note, students who learn through participatory methodologies better retain the acquired knowledge, better apply it to specific cases, and are more critical; thus, it is assumed that the scores obtained by students who develop their learning through PrjBL would be higher than those obtained by other students learning through a non-participatory methodology. Thus, the second hypothesis is as follows: H2: Students involved in PrjBL have a better level of performance than those who are not. Friedlan (1995) states that the use of small cases in a „non-traditional‟ course has a significant effect on students' perceptions of the skills required for academic and Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 70 professional success, and they are consistent with the skills that professional accountants identify as necessary for any graduate. The main skills required for professional accountants are the following: decision making, teamwork, and oral and written communication (e.g., AECC, 1990; White Paper, 1989). Thus, the third hypothesis is derived: H3: Students involved in PrjBL perceive they develop skills desired in the profession. Sample, measuring instrument, and variables To test the hypotheses, a database of students who participated in PrjBL was developed during 2 consecutive academic years (AY1 and AY2). The database included their perceptions of usefulness, skills, and their scores. To measure students' perceptions, the CEMPA questionnaire was produced and validated using confirmatory factor analysis by Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández, and López (2011). The first part of the questionnaire consists of closed-ended questions rated using a 5-point Likert scale to measure the perceived effectiveness of active participation techniques in the development of technical and non-technical skills. In turn, non-technical skills are divided into instrumental, systemic, and interpersonal skills (Zabalza, 2003). Instrumental skills provide students with learning and training tools; systemic skills relate to seeing the big picture and the ability to properly manage the entire intervention; and interpersonal skills are those associated with the development of abilities to maintain good social relationships with others. The second part of the questionnaire is descriptive, consisting of open-ended questions. The first part of the questionnaire is based on 25 items. The first 5 are related to the perception of the usefulness of the methodology for learning the subject and are linked to Hypothesis 1 (H1). These items are the following: helps verify the knowledge learnt in the classroom with its application to real situations; helps bridge the gap between theory and practice; facilitates the process of learning the subject; involves the participants in their own learning; and creates an attitude of active participation. H3 (skills desired in the profession) is linked to the remaining items in the questionnaire: time management, problem-solving, decision-making, planning, delegating, selfmotivation, teamwork, conflict management, negotiation, leadership, and intellectual stimulation, among others. Performance (H2) is measured in terms of project scores 1 , the exam scores, and the final scores for each subject 2 . 1 The project score ranges between 0 and 3. Each student-member of a working group was individually assessed even though he/she was conditioned by the group's achievement measured through mandatory tutorial sessions. 2 The course score for students participating in PrjBL was the sum of the exam score (if it was equal to or greater than 4) and the project score. For students who did not participate in PrjBL, the final score was the score received on the exam. Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 71 In total, data from 896 individuals, 557 in AFA and 339 in AA (Tables IX and X), were collected. From this database, a descriptive analysis of the questionnaire items and an analysis of student performance were performed through a linear regression between the exam score and the project score. 4. RESEARCH RESULTS Descriptive analysis of the survey items The Cronbach's alpha associated with the questionnaires for both subjects and for AY1 and AY2 ranged between 0.860 and 0.906, near 1, indicating that the instrument built on the 25 items is reliable and produces stable measurements. The mean scores of the perception of usefulness (Table I) of both courses were 3.80 in AFA and 4.38 in AA. In AA, the values were all above 4, highlighting the following items: helps verify the knowledge learnt in the classroom with its application to real situations (4.48), involves the participants in their own learning (4.47), and facilitates the learning of AA (4.43). In AFA, the main perceptions are the following: creates an attitude of active participation (4.01) and involves participants in their own learning (4.00). Table I. Usefulness and technical skills of PrjBL (1-5 scale) AFA AA Mean 3.80 4.38 (*) 1- Helps verify the knowledge learnt in the classroom with its application to real situations 3.86 4.48 (*) 2- Helps bridge the gap between theory and practice 3.52 4.31 3- Facilitates the learning of AFA and/or AA 3.61 4.43 (*) 4- Involves participants in their own learning 4.00 (*) 4.47 (*) 5- Creates an attitude of active participation 4.01 (*) 4.24 The results in Table II show that students perceive that they develop non-technical skills in both AA and AFA, in instrumental (3.92 and 3.73, respectively), systemic (3.74 and 3.53, respectively), and interpersonal (3.89 and 3.66, respectively) skills. Teamwork (4.43; 4.47), computer use (4.15; 4.14), and interpersonal communication (4.23; 3.91) stand out. Additionally, students assigned a high score to conflict management in AFA (4.00) and oral (4.11) and written (4.13) communication in AA. In the second part of the questionnaire (descriptive) related to the time dedicated to PrjBL, the answers were highly varied. Time varied from 12 to 70 hours in AFA and from 15 to 120 hours in AA. Tutorials were highly scored in both subjects, with a mean of 4.31 in AFA and 4.73 in AA. A total of 90% of the respondents in AFA and 100% of the respondents in AA regarded the tutorials as sufficient and essential to carry out the work. Additionally, the students were requested to highlight the positive and negative aspects of the project, without a predefined list. The responses were consistent with the best-scored skills in Table I (teamwork, application to real situations, helps verify knowledge, improves understanding of the subjects). Regarding negative aspects, the Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 72 responses highlighted the large amount of time invested and insufficient weighting in the final score of the course. Table II. Non-technical skills in PrjBL (1-5 scale) AFA AA Instrumental skills 3.73 (*) 3.92 (*) 6- Time management 3.21 3.56 7- Problem-solving 3.72 3.92 8- Decision-making 3.77 3.85 9- Planning 3.66 3.78 10- Computer use 4.14 (*) 4.15 (*) 11- Database management 3.84 3.84 12. Oral Communication 3.88 4.11 (*) 13. Written communication 3.64 4.13 (*) Systemic skills 3.53 (*) 3.74 (*) 14- Creativity 3.5 3.59 15- Management by objectives 3.52 3.66 16- Project Management 3.43 3.68 17- Intellectual stimulation 3.8 3.93 18- Delegating 3.38 3.82 Interpersonal skills 3.66 (*) 3.89 (*) 19- Self-motivation 3.41 3.92 20- Awareness of ethics 3.04 3.45 21- Interpersonal communication 3.91 4.23 (*) 22- Teamwork 4.47 (*) 4.43 (*) 23- Conflict management 4 (*) 3.98 24- Negotiating 3.58 3.67 25- Leadership 3.23 3.57 The students conducted a comprehensive final evaluation of the methodology. AA scored 4.40 and AFA 3.92. In accordance with these evaluations, 71.5% of the students involved in AFA, but only 40% in AA considered that it should not be mandatory. Most participants (58% in AFA and 79% in AA) commented that the methodology was optimal for learning, with 70% in AFA and 84% in AA stating that they would repeat the experience. Score analysis To conduct the analysis of academic achievement, the following variable was controlled: prior ability of the students who participated in PrjBL and those who did not. To that end, an analysis of the students' mean scores in accounting during previous academic years was performed. The results showed no significant differences in previous scores, and thus, the ability of students involved in both samples is controlled, which means that prior ability is not an influencing factor affecting the results obtained 3 . 3 See means analysis in Appendix 1. Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 73 Score analysis in AFA A descriptive comparative analysis between the students who were involved in PrjBL (with projects) and those who were not (without any project) was conducted as though they were 2 independent samples, considering the exam score as an indicator of academic success 4 . Table III shows the descriptive statistics relating to the 2 groups for AY1 and AY2, reporting the difference between the average score of students who have undertaken a project (4.57 and 5.19, respectively) and those who have not (3.72 and 4.28, respectively). Table III. Descriptive statistics of the two groups for AY1 and AY2. Students… Sample Size Mean Standard deviation Standard error of mean AY1 Exam score Without project 161 3.73 (*) 2.11 0.167 With project 66 4.57 (*) 2.40 0.298 AY2 Exam score Without project 275 4.30 2.04 0.123 With project 55 5.20 (*) 1.87 0.252 To check the equality of variances between both groups and courses, the Levene's test (Table IVa) is performed; showing that it is the same (p=0.310 and p=0.526), this leads to calculating the t-statistic (Table IV b). The value of the t-statistic (-2.621 and 3.038,) and the associated p-value (0.009 and 0.003) result in the finding that there are significant differences between both scores 5 . Table IV. Levene's test and Student's t-test a) Levene's test for equality of variances b) t-test for equality of means F Significance t gl Significance (2 tailed) Mean difference Standard error of the difference AY1 1.036 0.310 -2.621 224 0.009 -0.84544 0.32260 AY2 0.403 0.526 3.038 328 0.003 0.90207 0.29695 Comparing the percentiles of both distributions (Table Va) shows that the median of students in the „without project‟ group for AY1 is 3.80, which means that half of the students have a score below 3.8, whereas half of the students in the „with project‟ group have a score higher than 4.5 and pass the course with the project score. 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Madrid: Ed. Narcea. Carrasco, Donoso, Duarte, Hernández & López The effectiveness of the project-based learning approach in undergraduate acc. education educade, nº 9, 2018, p. 83 Appendix 1. Mean score analysis of students with and without projects in accounting courses from previous academic years. The available data belong to a group of 123 students with a score greater than or equal to 5 in accounting courses prior to those under study in this paper. A total of 67 out of these 123 students are part of the „without project‟ sample group, and 56 are part of the „with project‟ sample group. The results allow us to conclude that there are no significant differences in the previous scores; thus, the ability of the students involved in both groups is controlled and is not an influencing factor in the results obtained. Previous scores in accounting courses: N Mean Standard deviation Standard error of the mean Without project 67 6.1972 1.27790 0.15974 With project 56 6.3800 1.15043 0.15512 The Levene's test leads us to assume the equality of variances in both groups. The t-statistic for the comparison of means does not reject the hypothesis of significant differences between the means of both groups. Levene's test for equality of variances T-test for equality of means F Sig. t gl p-value 0.444 0.506 -1.126 117 0.262