Abstract
Students today see little relevance in learning double-entry bookkeeping and find it difficult to learn how to prepare journal entries correctly. In particular, they struggle with the first stage of the double-entry process: identifying which accounts are to be debited and which are to be credited for each transaction. This paper reports on an attempt to overcome this situation by using the first printed instructional text on the subject (Pacioli, 1494) as the principal textbook on a 20-hour component of the introductory financial accounting course in an undergraduate accounting degree program. Instruction followed the pedagogy presented by Pacioli and only minimal additional costs to faculty were incurred.The innovation was successful. In their assessment, students not only demonstrated that they had learned, understood, and were able to draft the correct entries to make into the Journal, they did so correctly to an extent that exceeded expectations.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 16-35 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Journal of Accounting Education |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 19 Dec 2013 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2014 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgmentsThis research was made possible by a Teaching and Learning grant from Middlesex University. Greg Stoner's involvement was supported by The Carnegie Fund for the Universities of Scotland.
Keywords
- Cognitive apprenticeships
- Cognitive layout theory
- Double-entry bookkeeping
- Engagement
- History
- Pacioli