Perceived Problems of Being an Accounting Teacher

Abstract

This study aims to identify the primary problems faced by accounting professors both upon entry into the profession and during later phases. Thus, it seeks to answer the following research question: what are the problems perceived by accounting professors in Brazil during each phase of the professional life cycle? The data collection instrument was constructed based on the life cycles proposed by Huberman (2000) and the problems identified by Veenman (1984) and validated by a committee of experts (Delphi technique). The sample consisted of 574 Brazilian professors. The results indicate that the main problems faced by professors were the following: "lack of student motivation"; "heterogeneous classes"; "amount of administrative work"; "very large class size"; and "lack of time". It was also found that these problems tend to be the same during all phases of the professorial life cycle. However, these problems are more intense upon entry into the career; their importance decreases in each phase. It was also found that professors working for public versus private institutions confronted different problems. The large amount of administrative work and the lack of guidance by the higher education institution (HEI) are typical problems of public institutions. The degree level achieved by professors is also sensitive to the type of problems that they face. In other words, the lack of opportunities for additional training, the lack of HEI guidance, and the knowledge of academic standards are issues that most directly affect professors with lower professional degrees, whereas the lack of time and the large amount of administrative work are problems faced with greater intensity by professors with higher degrees.

Factors Associated with Failure in Accounting: A Case Study of the Omani Students Rodrigo M. Velasco1

“…Challenges that relate to the teacher-factors are perceived by less number of students. Meanwhile, only a few identified a challenge with their classmates as well as the class timing.The challenges faced by the students are similar to the factors identified by the previous studies including irrelevant exams (Tailab, 2013) and large class sizes (Araujo, Lima, Oliveira & Miranda, 2015). The personal struggles of the students in the study of accounting were not related to any cited studies herein.…”

“…These outcomes are synonymous with the study of Araujo, Lima, Oliveira & Miranda (2015). The same issues faced by the teachers on students' motivation, heterogeneous classes and large class size.…”

“…In South Africa, teachers' qualifications and books are the primary issues (Modise, 2016). In Brazil, lack of students' motivation, heterogeneous classes, the load of administrative work, large class size and insufficient time are the primary problems faced by accounting teachers (Araujo, Lima, Oliveira & Miranda, 2015).…”

Relação entre metodologias ativas, ciclo de vida docente e qualificação docente no ensino de graduação em contabilidade.

“…A segunda fase do ciclo de vida docente apresenta médias de adoção maiores que as evidenciadas na primeira fase. Tal fato vai ao encontro de Araújo et al (2015) que apontam que nesse momento da carreira o docente possui maior confiança na adoção de estratégias de ensino e autonomia do processo de ensino. Esse resultado está em linha com Huberman (2000).…”

“…A terceira fase do ciclo de vida docente apresenta a segunda menor média de adoção das categorias de metodologias ativas, se comparado com as demais fases do ciclo de vida docente. Essa fase compreende 18 anos de carreira e pode abranger momentos diferentes da profissão, logo, Huberman (2000) e Araújo et al (2015) apontam que o docente passa pela "fase de experimentação" na qual se sente à vontade para tentar usar novos materiais, métodos de ensino e formas de dar aula. Contudo, é nesse momento que o professor pode transitar da "fase de experimentação" para uma reflexão do que já realizou e o que ainda é possível alcançar na carreira, detonara "fase de questionamento".…”