Professionalising accounting education - the WIL experience

The study tests the impact of an undergraduate business degree with significant Work Integrated Learning (WIL) components on student satisfaction, self-efficacy, and generic skills development compared to students undertaking a traditional business degree. The article adopts a longitudinal survey methodology of two sample groups: A control group studying a traditional business degree (“Control Group”); and a group of students enrolled in the WIL business degree (“PD Students”). The survey instrument, which contained self-reported Likert scale measures of self-efficacy, generic skills, and satisfaction, was administered at the beginning of the students’ first, second, and third year of study. We find that the WIL business degree has had a positive influence in terms of student satisfaction, self-efficacy, and generic skills development and these measures are more pronounced than students completing the traditional business degree. The study extends the research on generic skills in business education and supports empirical evidence of WIL as a method of achieving greater student satisfaction with their academic experience, enhancing student self-efficacy, and developing students’ generic skills. Despite its resourcing issues, this study provides initial evidence to support further investment by higher education and industry in WIL activities within accounting education.