A longitudinal study of undergraduate accounting students' learning style preferences at two UK universities

A learning style indicates a person's preferred way of learning. Students do not learn in the same way and a number of different learning style preferences exist which can change according to experience, i.e. a student's learning style preference may change over time. For accounting students this experience varies according to the institution attended and the programme of study. This paper presents the results of a study of 410 students enrolled on an undergraduate accounting programme in 1998/1999 at two UK universities where students underwent different experiences. Their learning style preferences are analysed against background variables of gender, nationality and institution attended. Also the changes in learning style preferences of students enrolled on the first year in 1998/1999 and who completed their final year in 2000/2001 are analysed. The study shows that differences in learning style preferences exist and that learning style preferences change over time. The paper discusses the implications of these changes and calls for further work in the area.