There is increasing evidence that females are outperforming males in secondary education across a range of subjects. The data in higher education, however, is not so clear-cut. Several studies have been undertaken examining the impact of gender on undergraduate accounting performance, ranging from early year performance to that of later years, with conflicting results. Some of the literature suggests that gender differences are dependent on the type of assessment utilized, reporting that females tend to perform better than males in coursework assessments with the position being reversed for examinations. This paper examines gender differences across several performance measures both prior to and post entry into an Accounting and Finance degree. Data was collected from the population of honours graduates of 1998, 1999 and 2000 (n = 132) on a thick sandwich Accounting and Finance degree at the Robert Gordon University in Scotland. All the data was extracted from student files to develop a multitude of independent performance related variables, categorized into: point of university entry data, early university performance data and final honours year performance data (examined on an individual module basis and also a global coursework and examination performance basis). Statistical differences were examined using a two independent sample technique, whereby the population was categorized by gender into male and female, with either a t-test or Mann-Whitney test being utilized dependent on the distribution of the independent variable. Only two gender differences were found: females outperformed their male counterparts in the first year accounting module and also in the auditing module, which was undertaken via distance learning during the third year of the programme. No gender differences were found in any of the final year modules, and this was also evident in the coursework and examination performance analysis. Single sex focus groups were set up to explore why gender differences were apparent in the auditing module.gender differences, undergraduate performance,

This paper examines the relationship between constructed gender, approach to learning and academic performance for 121 final year students at the Robert Gordon University in Scotland. Data was collected from two cohorts of students, namely Accounting and Finance students and Business students. Constructed gender (gender identity) was measured using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42(2), pp. 155-162) and approach to learning was measured using the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (Entwistle and Tait, 1995, The Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory, Centre for Research on Learning and Instruction, Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh). The results found that neither biological gender nor constructed gender was related to academic performance. In respect of approaches to learning, the findings were similar for biological gender and constructed gender. Female students scored highly on the surface approach and this was the case for students with a feminine constructed gender. Statistically significant differences in academic performance were found for students who scored higher on the deep approach, strategic approach, academic self confidence dimension and metacognitive awareness dimension, although there was no significant negative correlation identified between adopting a surface approach and academic performance. Thus, approaches to learning would appear to explain more in terms of differences in academic performance than either constructed or biological gender.Biological gender, constructed gender, approaches to learning, academic performance,