A critical theory and postmodernist approach to the teaching of Accounting Theory
Kieran James
Working Paper 13/06
September 2006
About the Author
Dr Kieran James is a lecturer in Commerce, School of Commerce, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga NSW 2678, Australia.
The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful comments of Graeme Rose and Jenny Kent, and especially the encouraging words of Mary Kaidonis, on earlier versions of this manuscript. Thanks also to Jenny Leung for typing up the interview transcripts, to Jenny Leung and Simon Yong for interpreting one of the interviews where the interviewee chose to receive and answer questions in Chinese Mandarin, and to Setsuo Otsuka for introducing me to the fascinating sociology of education literature.
Charles Sturt University – Faculty of Business Working Paper Series
Managing Editor: Associate Professor Jayne Bisman, School of Accounting, Bathurst
Editors: Dr P. Mathews, School of Commerce, Wagga Wagga
Associate Professor M. O'Mullane, School of Business, Albury
Dr R. Tierney, School of Marketing and Management, Bathurst
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Table of Contents
- Abstract
- Introduction and literature review
- The study of popular culture in Accounting Theory class
- Research method for interviews
- Teaching activities and results for interviews
- Conclusion
- References
Abstract
This paper outlines my teaching philosophy for the Accounting Theory subject. A critical theory and postmodernist approach is recommended, which makes full use of non-accounting “tangential” material (Boyce, 2004) and material from popular culture (Kell, 2004; Nilan, 2004). The paper discusses some classroom interactive activities, as well as interview results from interviews conducted with ten international students and one Australian student at Charles Sturt University. The teaching approach proposed in this paper is to conduct classroom interactive activities which study theories and research results from a range of disciplines in order to illustrate key points that apply equally as much to accounting theories and the accounting research process, e.g. the Positive/Normative dichotomy. Classroom interactive activities are discussed in class using the “dialogical approach” to education recommended by Freire (1996), Kaidonis (2004), Boyce (2004), and Thomson and Bebbington (2004). Once students gain experience in studying material from outside accounting, the interview results suggest that they are then better motivated (Wynder, 2006) and better equipped to study and evaluate accounting theories.