Problem Solving Styles, Approaches to Learning and Academic Performance of Spanish Accounting Students : An Exploratory Study of Profiles and Relationships

Abstract

Background. Entwistle Students’ Approaches to Learning framework and Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model has been widely used in higher education. Different inventories have been developed in order to adapt to different contexts and / or to supersede reported weakness. Aims. This paper aims to explore the profiles and approaches showed by a sample of Spanish accounting students as well as the relationship of those profiles with the academic performance. Instrument and Sample. The instrument consists of both the short version of the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ; Fox et al, 2001) and the Problem Solving Style Questionnaire (PSSQ, Romero et al, 1992). The sample is composed by the students enrolled in advanced financial accounting and financial statement analysis during the 2005-06 academic course at the University of Sevilla. Results. Contrariwise to reported results in our area, but in different countries, Spanish accounting students mainly present diverger learning style, followed by assimilator style. A strong, negative correlation is found between the score on surface approach and the academic performance in the accounting courses. Although there is no difference in grades by style preference, there is a positive correlation in the score CE-AC, which suggest that students scoring high to abstract conceptualization pole tend to obtain higher grades.