15. Workplace
Learning-Curriculum Necessity or Optional Extra? A New Zealand Exemplar
Presenters: Ross Stewart, Seattle Pacific University
Anil Narayan, Auckland University of Technology
Ron Feasey, Auckland University of Technology
Description: Only five
percent of accounting programs in a recent survey in the U.S. required an
internship/cooperative experience and only twelve percent were giving serious
consideration to requiring such an experience (Beard 1998, p. 510). More
recently, a report on the state of accounting education in the U.S. suggested
that one important way accounting programs can provide appropriate, relevant
learning experiences for students was to design "sufficient and
appropriate out-of-classroom experiences" (Albrecht and Sack 2000, p. 64).
The report stated that practitioners and faculty alike ranked highly the
importance of a co-op experience (p. 55). It is surprising that "out of
classroom" educational experiences have not become a mainstream
educational strategy in accounting programs.
This session will focus on how and
why the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in New Zealand has implemented
cooperative education as a strategy of applied learning in the undergraduate
business program. It includes an evaluation of the effectiveness of workplace
learning as it relates to accounting programs, and examines the transition of
students from classroom learning to professional practice.
We will demonstrate that workplace
learning strongly emphasizes the current thinking on how people learn, focusing
on the development and assessment of student capabilities including critical
thinking, reflective thinking, problem solving, effective teamwork, technical
competence, testing theories in the workplace, and identifying gaps in student
learning.
Participants will learn how to
handle issues relating to student placements, developing learning contracts,
academic supervision, employer involvement, project development, and program
assessment.
