The reflective accountant: Changing Student perceptions of traditional Accounting through reflective educational practice

The study of introductory accounting is characterised by certain topics that have traditionally proved challenging for students often resulting in the adoption of a negative perception towards the academic discipline (Weil, 1989; Sharma, 1997; Lucas, 2000; Mladenovic, 2000; Lucas, 2001; Lucas and Mladenovic, 2006). Drawing on reflective educational theory, this paper describes the introduction of a reflective journaling exercise within a business information course in order to increase student engagement with course related material. The paper commences with a review of literature relating to reflective practice in education followed by an analysis on the use of learning journals, clearly depicting the advantages and disadvantages associated with this teaching technique. The paper then describes the context in which the research takes place, including the nature of the course, its learning objectives and its educational philosophy. Extracts taken from individual reflection journals and essays maintained by students are utilised to provide an evaluation of the perceived usefulness of the teaching method. The findings of the study are then discussed and analysed, with the conclusion and suggestions for further research presented in the final section.