The main purpose of the research study was to determine significant predictors of
success and non-completion in first-year accounting. In order to do so, cognitive as
well as non-cognitive factors that may have an influence on performance in firstyear
accounting were identified through a literature study, and relatively unexplored
factors were identified. Therefore, the research study investigated whether study
attitude, abstract thinking and time perspective can statistically predict performance
in first-year accounting. A quantitative non-experimental predictive multivariate
design was used and confounding variables were taken into consideration. Five
hundred and thirty three (533) first-year accounting students at a South African
University participated in the study. The participants completed the Psycho-Social
Questionnaire (PSQ), factor B of the 16PF Questionnaire, and the Zimbardo Time
Perspective Inventory (ZTPI). Study attitude was measured in terms of
performance in another first-year subject that most of the first-year accounting
students had to enrol for. A univariate analysis indicated significant relationships
between achievement in first-year accounting and age, gender, psychosocial
background, past-negative time perspective and study attitude. The results also
indicated that the relationship between first-year accounting and abstract thinking
ability is not statistically significant because the sample scores for abstract thinking
ability were homogeneously grouped around the mean. Because factors that may
have an influence on performance in accounting are interrelated, a multivariate
analysis indicated significant relationships between performance in first-year
accounting and age, the past-negative time perspective and study attitude.
Therefore, the above-mentioned factors can predict performance in first-year
accounting to a certain extent. The most outstanding result of the study was that a
past-negative time perspective together with an unfavourable psychosocial
background may lead to non-completion in first-year accounting.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-08182011-103720 |
| Date | 18 August 2011 |
| Creators | Joubert, J A |
| Contributors | Dr MC Viljoen |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-08182011-103720/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.002 seconds