Investigating educators' perception of technology in accounting secondary education in Malta

Abstract

Purpose: The objectives of this dissertation involve the assessment of educators' perception towards the use of technology in classrooms including the use of basic accounting software, discovering the extent of and the factors behind the use of technology in accounting classrooms as well as determining the educators' view on the introduction of technology within the accounting curriculum. Design: To achieve the objectives of the dissertation a qualitative approach was adopted. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with accounting teachers from church, public as well as private secondary schools. Findings: From the findings of the study, it was discovered that accounting educators use technology to some extent; however, none had made use of accounting related software. The most significant factors affecting the integration of technology in the accounting classrooms were found to be the perceived usefulness of the technology, the ease of using the technology, availability of resources and support. The perception of educators regarding the use of technology was found to be positive and included technology being seen as a useful tool that could be utilised to make accounting more attractive and engaging for the students. Teachers were open to using basic accounting software as a way to increase the interactivity and efficiency of the accounting lessons whilst helping to focus on the principles behind the entering of accounting transactions. Furthermore, the educators were happy with the introduction of spreadsheets to the accounting curriculum and were open to the idea of more technology being introduced so long as time permits it. Conclusion: Educators have moved away from the traditional method of teaching accounting and have been exploring using technology as a way to make accounting more engaging for the students. The educators are excited to push on to using new technology but face obstacles such as the availability of time, infrastructure, software and training to be able to do so. Implications: The potential of technology in being the solution to making accounting more attractive and engaging for students can be seen throughout this dissertation. It is imperative that educators are supported in order for this potential to be realised.