University success is impacted largely by the successful transition of students in their first year. This study’s objective is to identify the motives, expectations and preparedness of first-year accounting students enrolled for an accounting degree at the University Of the Western Cape (UWC) for higher education. Students’ motives, expectations and preparedness for higher education have been found to impact their success in their tertiary studies. A quantitative approach was used for this study. A questionnaire was administered to first-year accounting students at UWC during the first lecture of their first accounting module. Descriptive statistics was used in order to analyse the data obtained from the questionnaire. The findings include that students’ time commitments were aligned to that proposed by the university, that they were motivated by a mixture of internal and external factors and that they expected to grow intellectually as a result of studying B.Com (Accounting) at UWC but did not expect to develop better social skills. Educators should acknowledge the importance of and incorporate initiatives to develop the interpersonal skills in the training of accounting graduates. The study contributes to understanding the first-year experience of students studying at a historically disadvantaged institution in South Africa.
Chartered accountant educators and accounting students at a historically disadvantaged institution (HDI) in South Africa explored concepts of responsible decision-making and leadership, social justice and the effect of decisions on local and global communities and the environment within the business context. The workshop was grounded on the global, focusing on sustainable human and planetary well-being and the local, centring on the notion of ubuntu. Specifically, this workshop was framed in line with the notion of glo-ubuntu as an extension of global citizenship education (GCE). The workshop’s purpose was to create a space for students to engage with the consequences of business leaders’ decisions critically. This was to be achieved by drawing on their embodied knowledge and nurturing, as future business leaders, social awareness of the need for decisions that are just – towards social cohesion, restorative justice and planetary well-being through sustainable businesses.
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