Students' Approaches to Study in Introductory Accounting Courses

Significant education research has focused on the study approaches of students. Two study approaches have been clearly identified: deep and surface. In this study, the author examined the way in which students approach studying introductory accounting courses. In general, he found that GPA and expected course grade were correlated positively with using the deep approach to studying. Compared with other business majors, accounting and nonbusiness majors used more deep and fewer surface approaches to studying. In addition, women and students who were more mature and senior employed the deep approach more often than did other students. The results have implications for the accounting instructor in these critical introductory courses.