Critical thinking: Stakeholder expectations and challenges for Accountancy educators
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Authors
Terblanche, Alet
Shuttleworth, Christina Cornelia
Van Rooyen, Annelien Adriana
Masela, Richard Nkosinathi
Issue Date
2023-02
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Accountancy student , Business environment , Competency frameworks , Critical thinking skills , Professional accounting bodies , VUCA
Alternative Title
Abstract
Developing future accountants who are critical thinkers, able to adapt in a volatile,
uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world, remains one of the biggest
challenges facing accounting educators. Competency frameworks of professional
accounting bodies do provide some guidance in terms of the competencies and skills
graduates should possess when entering the profession, but lack the inclusion of a
clear, consensus-based definition of critical thinking and its related skills. The
present study sought to explore the extent to which critical thinking and related
concepts are present in and align across the competency frameworks of four
professional accounting bodies. Employing a content analysis, the results indicated
no agreed-upon definition for “critical thinking” or related terms. The term “critical
thinking” only appeared in one framework with “decision-making”, “judgement” and
“problem solving” serving as surrogate terms across the frameworks. Variations of
“analyse”, “explain” and “evaluate”, that are considered to be core critical thinking
skills, were extensively used in the frameworks, albeit not clearly defined.
Professional bodies are crucial when creating a more mature demand for critical
thinking acumen in graduates and workplace professionals. The researchers therefor
advocate better agreement among accounting educators and professional bodies
about the definition of critical thinking.
Description
Citation
Routledge