Factors Influencing Accounting Faculty Members' Decision to Adopt Technology in the Classroom.

Abstract

With technology changing today's business environment, educators must strive to expose students to recent advances in technology, help them understand its impact on business, and foster in them an attitude of continual learning to keep current as change continues. The use of technology in the classroom is one way educators can begin to incorporate technology into the curriculum. A survey examined the extent to which Principles of Accounting faculty members have incorporated technology into their introductory accounting courses and the factors influencing them to do so. These findings provide direction for administrators seeking to encourage the use of technology in the classroom. Introduction New technologies are changing the environment in which today's accountants practice. Accountants must possess a broader set of knowledge, skills, and abilities than prior generations. Technology has invaded all aspects of an accountant's professional life and individuals entering the profession must have the necessary skills to use technology effectively. In order to keep pace with these changes, the profession has called for significant change in accounting education. To determine the impact of these calls for change in accounting education, this study explores technology use by accounting faculty. While this study focuses on accounting education, the use of technology is not confined to the field of accounting and findings are applicable to disciplines beyond the accounting domain. Background The past two decades saw significant change in the accounting profession. Accounting educators as well as the accounting profession have called for educational reforms (Bedford & Shenkir, 1987; AECC, 1990; Williams, 1993; IFAC, 1995; AICPA, 1999; Albrecht & Sack, 2000). The reforms call for accounting education to be redesigned to prepare students for the true nature of practice. A key study (Albrecht & Sack, 2000) found that accounting students are not sufficiently exposed to the impact of technology on business and the ways in which technology can be leveraged to make business decisions. According to the AICPA Vision Project, technology is the single largest force facing and technology adeptness is a core competency for the profession. CPAs must be able to utilize and leverage technology in ways that add value to clients, customers and employers (AICPA Vision Project p. 11). With this in mind, the CPA exam has been redesigned to test skills required of entry-level accountants, including effective technology skills (Mastracchio & Buchanan, 2004). The repeated calls for change suggest that academia has been slow to respond. The AECC found that, although technology in the workplace has exploded, the integration of technology into the curriculum has been slow. In fact, a key feature of the new accounting curriculum recommended by the AICPA is the integration of technology use throughout the accounting curriculum rather than in a single computer course (Ingram, 1987; AICPA Guideline No.11, 1996; Burnett, 2003). The emphasis in accounting education must shift from teaching to learning. The AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry into the Accounting Profession, an initiative aimed at changing education, supports a shift from content-driven to a skills-driven curriculum (AICPA The Framework, 2004). Lectures must be replaced with other educational strategies. Accounting students must be actively involved in the learning environment in order to acquire the skills demanded by the profession. Technology both mandates and assists active learning. The use of technology transforms the learning environment so that it is student-centered, problem and project centered, collaborative, communicative, customized and productive. Technology use can assist educators in their new role of facilitator of learning and at the same time develop many of the necessary skills, including the use of technology tools, individuals entering the profession will be expected to possess. …

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