Active Learning in Accounting: A Case Study in Preaching to the Unconverted

In recent years there has been a decrease in the proportion of commerce students taking an accounting major in Australia (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, 2001), resulting in a greater proportion of first year accounting classes comprising non‐accounting majors. At our institution we felt that an approach based on “active learning” strategies as suggested by the Albrecht and Sack Report (2000) was appropriate for non‐accounting majors. This was primarily to instil a greater enthusiasm for and interest in accounting than had been evident from our experience with these students in the past. In the course evaluations the non‐accounting majors were positive about their learning experiences. In reviewing the students’ assessment performance we found that the non‐accounting majors actually performed better than the accounting majors in one of the five assessment components – the final exam. These findings suggest that the active learning approach may be beneficial to all accounting students.