This thesis investigates why accountancy graduates are not preferred by large accountancy firms. This investigation is underpinned by two key factors sought by large accountancy recruiters: the ability of trainees to pass professional examinations (paper 1) and the development of non-technical skills by prospective trainees at the recruitment stage (paper 2 and paper 3). Paper 1 investigates the factors influencing the performance of Big 4 trainees in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland’s (ICAS) Test of Professional Skill Examinations with the key finding being that there is no significant difference in performance between accounting and non-accounting graduates. Through a questionnaire to Big 4 trainees, paper 2 finds that non-accounting graduates perceive their development of intellectual skills at university significantly higher than accounting graduates although accounting graduates perceive their development of team working skills superior to non-accounting graduates. These findings are explored further through interviews with 11 Scottish academics who have oversight of accountancy degrees. The interviewees identify that they needed to prioritise which non-technical skills to develop due to limited space available after satisfying the normative pressure of accreditation. In the remaining unaccredited space, interviewees revealed a priority for interpersonal and communication skills which may detract from intellectual skill development. Paper 3 expands on the interviews from paper 2 to establish the existence of economic and education logic in Scottish undergraduate accountancy education and investigates how the balance of these impacts on course content decisions made by Scottish accountancy degree providers. Accreditation, a carrier of economic logic, is identified as the key driver of course content. In addition, Paper 3 identifies and explores a number of institutional conflicts between accreditation and carriers of education logic, along with coping strategies employed in relation to these conflicts.

Devido à grande discrepância entre os métodos de ensino atuais e a forma como ocorre a atuação profissional do contador, destaca-se a necessidade de estudar métodos que estimulem a interação social e facilitem a cooperação entre os estudantes. Neste cenário, a presente pesquisa dedica-se ao estudo da aprendizagem cooperativa, tema já consolidado no ensino de inúmeras disciplinas de nível secundário, porém recente no ensino superior de contabilidade e com resultados ainda controversos. O objetivo principal é avaliar se a utilização da aprendizagem cooperativa proporciona melhoria na aprendizagem dos alunos de Ciências Contábeis. Para isso, foram escolhidos dois níveis das habilidades intelectuais mais elevadas da taxonomia de Bloom: aplicação e análise. O referencial teórico se baseia na literatura sobre aprendizagem cooperativa, taxonomia de Bloom, estilos de aprendizagem e o problema de gerenciamento de conflitos em grupos conhecido como \"Paradoxo de Abilene\". O experimento foi realizado em uma turma do 1º semestre do curso noturno de Ciências Contábeis da FEA-USP. A amostra inicial era composta por 43 alunos e a final por 36. Os alunos foram divididos em dois grupos: experimental (aprendizagem cooperativa) e controle (aprendizagem individual), utilizando amostragem aleatória estratificada. Os critérios de estratificação foram: 1º) nota parcial em Contabilidade Introdutória; 2º) gênero; 3º) estilo de aprendizagem e; 4º) faixa etária e experiência. Os dois grupos responderam às mesmas questões, porém a turma de controle respondeu individualmente e a turma experimental, em grupos heterogêneos de quatro a cinco indivíduos. Os dados coletados foram analisados utilizando a análise de covariância (ANCOVA) para a categoria aplicação e análise de variância (ANOVA) para a categoria análise. Contrariando as expectativas, os resultados não apuraram diferenças significativas no desempenho dos alunos nas duas categorias. Ao final do estudo, são discutidas as percepções dos alunos sobre a experiência, limitações e sugestões para pesquisas futuras sobre o tema. / Due to the large discrepancy between the current learning methods and how is the performance of the professional accountant, stands out the need to study methods that encourage social interaction and facilitate cooperation among students. In this scenario, the present research is devoted to the study of cooperative learning, a topic already consolidated in teaching numerous courses at the secondary level. However, this is recent in higher education accounting and the results are still controversial. The main objective is to evaluate whether the use of cooperative learning provides improvement in student learning in accounting science. For this, we chose two levels of higher intellectual skills of Bloom\'s taxonomy: application and analysis. The theoretical framework is based on the literature on cooperative learning, Bloom\'s taxonomy, learning styles and the problem of conflict management in groups known as \"Abilene Paradox\". The experiment was conducted in a 1st semester of the night course of accounting from FEA-USP. The initial sample was composed of 43 students and end by 36. Students were divided into two groups: experimental (cooperative learning) and control (individual learning), using stratified random sampling. The stratification criteria were: 1) partial score in Introductory Accounting, 2) gender, 3) learning style and, 4) age and experience. Both groups answered the same questions, but the control group answered individually and the experimental group in heterogeneous groups of four to five individuals. The collected data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for category application and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for category analysis. Contrary to expectations, no significant differences were cleared in the student performance of cooperative learning in relation to individual learning in both categories. At the end of the study, it was discussed the perceptions of students about the experience, limitations are and suggestions for the future research on the topic.

Devido à grande discrepância entre os métodos de ensino atuais e a forma como ocorre a atuação profissional do contador, destaca-se a necessidade de estudar métodos que estimulem a interação social e facilitem a cooperação entre os estudantes. Neste cenário, a presente pesquisa dedica-se ao estudo da aprendizagem cooperativa, tema já consolidado no ensino de inúmeras disciplinas de nível secundário, porém recente no ensino superior de contabilidade e com resultados ainda controversos. O objetivo principal é avaliar se a utilização da aprendizagem cooperativa proporciona melhoria na aprendizagem dos alunos de Ciências Contábeis. Para isso, foram escolhidos dois níveis das habilidades intelectuais mais elevadas da taxonomia de Bloom: aplicação e análise. O referencial teórico se baseia na literatura sobre aprendizagem cooperativa, taxonomia de Bloom, estilos de aprendizagem e o problema de gerenciamento de conflitos em grupos conhecido como \"Paradoxo de Abilene\". O experimento foi realizado em uma turma do 1º semestre do curso noturno de Ciências Contábeis da FEA-USP. A amostra inicial era composta por 43 alunos e a final por 36. Os alunos foram divididos em dois grupos: experimental (aprendizagem cooperativa) e controle (aprendizagem individual), utilizando amostragem aleatória estratificada. Os critérios de estratificação foram: 1º) nota parcial em Contabilidade Introdutória; 2º) gênero; 3º) estilo de aprendizagem e; 4º) faixa etária e experiência. Os dois grupos responderam às mesmas questões, porém a turma de controle respondeu individualmente e a turma experimental, em grupos heterogêneos de quatro a cinco indivíduos. Os dados coletados foram analisados utilizando a análise de covariância (ANCOVA) para a categoria aplicação e análise de variância (ANOVA) para a categoria análise. Contrariando as expectativas, os resultados não apuraram diferenças significativas no desempenho dos alunos nas duas categorias. Ao final do estudo, são discutidas as percepções dos alunos sobre a experiência, limitações e sugestões para pesquisas futuras sobre o tema. / Due to the large discrepancy between the current learning methods and how is the performance of the professional accountant, stands out the need to study methods that encourage social interaction and facilitate cooperation among students. In this scenario, the present research is devoted to the study of cooperative learning, a topic already consolidated in teaching numerous courses at the secondary level. However, this is recent in higher education accounting and the results are still controversial. The main objective is to evaluate whether the use of cooperative learning provides improvement in student learning in accounting science. For this, we chose two levels of higher intellectual skills of Bloom\'s taxonomy: application and analysis. The theoretical framework is based on the literature on cooperative learning, Bloom\'s taxonomy, learning styles and the problem of conflict management in groups known as \"Abilene Paradox\". The experiment was conducted in a 1st semester of the night course of accounting from FEA-USP. The initial sample was composed of 43 students and end by 36. Students were divided into two groups: experimental (cooperative learning) and control (individual learning), using stratified random sampling. The stratification criteria were: 1) partial score in Introductory Accounting, 2) gender, 3) learning style and, 4) age and experience. Both groups answered the same questions, but the control group answered individually and the experimental group in heterogeneous groups of four to five individuals. The collected data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for category application and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for category analysis. Contrary to expectations, no significant differences were cleared in the student performance of cooperative learning in relation to individual learning in both categories. At the end of the study, it was discussed the perceptions of students about the experience, limitations are and suggestions for the future research on the topic.

This project explores research-based methods for creating an e-learning resource to teach an intellectual skill. Intellectual skills are one of the five domains of learning defined by Robert M. Gagné. The intellectual skill taught via the e-learning resource is the rules of Turkish vowel harmony, a fundamental phonological feature of the Turkish language. The purpose of the e-learning resource is to provide novice learners with a set of tools and strategies with which to approach the future study of Turkish. A literature review was conducted in three areas: Gagné’s instructional design theories, Turkish language learning, and best practices for the design of multimedia e-learning. Two rapid prototypes in the form of Moodle course sites were developed. Guidance for improving the prototypes was sought from experts in instructional design, usability, and computer software. The resulting finished e-learning product is a nine-topic Moodle course based on Gagné’s nine events of instruction. The main Moodle course content teaches the rules of Turkish vowel harmony as an intellectual skill which has been broken down into discriminations (the Turkish vowels), concepts (the Turkish vowel groups) and rules (Turkish vowel harmony). Higher order rules are taught in the form of exceptions to the rules of Turkish vowel harmony found in foreign loan-words in Turkish. Practice is provided in applying the rules of Turkish vowel harmony as a set of word attack skills for approaching Turkish language artifacts found online and in the environment. A comprehensive list of resources relating to learning Turkish, learning about the Turkish language, and learning about learning Turkish, is provided to facilitate future extension and application of what was learned in this course. Each lesson is presented in the form of a Moodle book. Each lesson is followed by an ungraded assessment in the form of an Adobe® PDF quiz. The quizzes and accompanying answer keys are designed to provide guided practice, feedback, and self-assessment to help students extend and apply the lesson material. All lessons were beta-tested to ensure usability and reduction of extraneous cognitive load. The project resulted in the development of a Best Practices Checklist for designing e-learning resources to teach intellectual skills. The Best Practices Checklist, which can be found in Appendix B, was used to develop the outline for e-learning resources to teach intellectual skills in other subject areas and was found to be an effective rapid prototyping and instructional design tool. Insight was gained into the significance of prior knowledge for teaching intellectual skills, and on how to calibrate cognitive load in e-learning design relative to the learner’s prior knowledge of the subject matter being taught.