"کشیده شدن کوتاه": ایجاد لحظاتی از تعجب و امکان در آموزش حسابداری

This paper identifies characteristic features of a pedagogic approach that may be used effectively within a dialogical approach to accounting education. The development of the ideas in the paper arose as a form of praxis: moments of surprise within teaching that led to reflection on what we expect from students as they engage in critical reflection. In particular, the paper discusses the role of epistemological beliefs in learning and the way in which these may affect the receptivity of students to the expectation of critical reflection. Moments of surprise have two aspects. Firstly, they represent moments when the lecturer is “pulled up short” and recognises the unexpected impact of a learning activity and is propelled into reflection. Secondly, they represent moments when students are “pulled up short” and are propelled into questioning taken-for-granted assumptions about themselves and the subject. It is argued that such moments of surprise initially arise out of a willingness on the part of the lecturer to improvise and engage in the “eros” of learning and teaching. These arguments are supported by a detailed description and analysis of five learning activities within a United Kingdom auditing course.

Many papers in this journal, and elsewhere, have discussed ways to develop teaching and learning practice within the critical accounting project. More recently, this has been represented by a growing emphasis on how we teach (for example, McPhail, 2004 and Thomson and Bebbington, 2004) rather than on what we teach. This paper seeks to contribute to that developing discussion of how we teach by focusing on one particular aspect of education: critical reflection. It considers the ways in which students’ epistemological beliefs may frame, and potentially limit, their ability to fully engage in a dialogical approach to education. Drawing on this exploration, the paper identifies some characteristic features of pedagogic approaches that may be used effectively within a dialogical approach to education. These approaches aim to “pull up short” both teachers and students and create moments of surprise and possibility within learning and teaching. The development of the ideas in this paper, although presented in traditional academic format, arose from an iterative process arising from reflection on my practice as an educator and as an educational researcher. The aim was to transform my teaching, and hopefully students’ learning, of auditing. In other words it arises as a form of praxis (Freire, 1970)—reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it. Whilst the context for this reflection is the learning and teaching of auditing, it is assumed that this is relevant to accounting generally, and the wide range of subjects taught within accounting degrees. The paper is organised as follows. Firstly, it discusses what is expected from students as they engage in critical reflection and whether all students are equally receptive to the expectation of critical reflection. In particular, it discusses the role that epistemological beliefs (or ways of knowing) play in this receptivity. Secondly, it discusses the difficulties encountered by students in becoming aware of, and possibly changing, their epistemological beliefs. Based on this discussion it proposes certain principles that may underpin supportive pedagogic approaches. Thirdly it describes five learning activities developed within an undergraduate auditing course that enact these supportive approaches. Finally, the paper concludes with the proposal that it is an engagement in the “eros” of teaching and learning that provides the opportunity for such moments of surprise and possibility to occur.

The above description and discussion of the five learning activities draws out characteristic features of pedagogic approaches that may be used effectively within a dialogical approach to accounting education. These features take account of variation in ways of knowing and recognise that students require an appropriate “balance of confirmation and contradiction” (Baxter Magolda, 1992, p. 27) to support them in identifying, and questioning, their own meaning-making structures. Key elements of these approaches support or challenge students during the various stages identified by Brookfield (1987): perceptions of anomalies or contradictions, appraisal, exploration, developing alternative perspectives and integration. These approaches involve playfulness, alternative forms of “text” such as poems and stories and triggers that are immediately relevant to a student's personal world. They also give students “permission” to respond emotionally and provide support structures to encourage students to experiment in their approach to critical reflection. However, a key issue that arises out of this reflection on my own teaching is that these activities would not have emerged without a willingness on my part to be “pulled up short”. As discussed in the previous section, engagement in the “eros” of learning and teaching (Beckett, 2000) and a willingness to improvise provide opportunities to seize the moment and be surprised. Thus educator and student become true partners in learning (Freire, 1970), both being exposed to “being pulled up short”. Moreover, the beauty of this mode of engagement, which is an aesthetic experience, is that it does not necessarily take up much time, does not require much preparation of learning materials, the drafting of new learning outcomes, or new forms of assessment. It is achievable even within a curriculum that is heavily constrained by external accreditation. It happens.